Love through Time and Space
by I Love Oc's
Summary: Emily thought she was an ordinary girl who like sci-fi and aliens and everything else that went with it. Until one day, while hanging out with Rose, her life became a lot more interesting. She meets a man called the Doctor who seems to know a lot about her and apparently she jumps around his timeline. Join Emily as she meets the man in the wrong order and falls in love. (1-12/oc)
1. Rose

**This is my first Doctor who story. I am planning on trying to do all of, if not, most of the episodes with the new and the classic series. Please be patient as I dont know when I will post the second chapter.**

 **I do not own Doctor who. I only own Emily.**

I was sleeping peacefully, having a nice dream, until I heard it, the knocking.

"Emily, get up, I'm leaving now. Don't stay in bed all day", said my roomie.

"I won't, Rose, probably most of the day then," I told her, still half under the covers.

She stared at me for a moment, then left, probably for work. I rolled over, not getting out of bed anytime soon.

**** Several hours later ****

I was up, fully dressed, ready for the day. I ran my hand through my short hair, trying to decide what I was going to do for the day. I was already at Henricks, where Rose works. I think it was somewhat close to closing time. So I figured I would wait until she finishes.

"This is a customer announcement. The store will be closing in five minutes. Thank you," said the loud speaker. Huh. I wonder who had the fun of doing that job.

I didn't have a job. Probably should, as I'm currently living with Rose. She had been my best friend for years and since I don't have enough money to rent some place, she offered to let me stay at her house. Bless her heart. I wish I had something for my headache though. I've had it for a while now. It comes and it goes. It's getting quite annoying now.

Rose came over to me, signalling that she was ready to leave. We were about to leave when a guard called out to us.

"Oi!" he called.

He hands Rose a package and she didn't look very happy about it. We go and enter the lift that takes us down. The lift pings and the door opens.

"Wilson. Wilson, I've got the lottery money. Wilson?" Rose asks as we walk further down the corridor. She knocked on a door that says 'HP Wilson CEO'.

"You there? Look, I can't hang about 'cause they're closing the shop and I have Emily with me. Wilson. Uhh, come on!"

I was just looking around as she said this. I was starting to get a bit bored as she tried to find this Wilson guy. Because I wasn't paying attention, it startled me a bit when I heard a sudden noise further along the corridor.

"Hello? Hello, Wilson, it's Rose. Hello? Wil…Wilson?"

We both walk down and stop outside a fire door for a moment. I open the door and we find ourselves in a room full of shop dummies. I turn on the light and we walk further into the room.

"Wilson? Wilson?" Rose continues to call out

We continued to walk through the room while I looked at the dummies cautiously, having never come down here before. Though, they start to give me the creeps, the way they stare at you, never moving, waiting for you to turn your back. I followed behind Rose until she reached the door. As she went to try and open the door, the door that we entered previously, closed loudly. I jumped but that when unnoticed by Rose as she ran back. She tried to open the door and failed, then she turned to me to see if I could. I shrugged and gave it a go. Just as I thought, it did not open. Just as I went to turn back to Rose, I heard a small sound, sounding like something plastic was being hit against something.

"Is that someone mucking about? Who is it?" Rose asked.

"Nah, it's just the dummies," I said sarcastically. "Who else could it be?"

We continued to enter further into the room to find out who was playing the trick on us. As we got further in, I heard a sound coming from behind. I turned around and saw that the dummy slowly turn its head towards us. That sort of freaked me out as that was NOT meant to happen. Seeing as they were inanimate objects, they should NOT be moving on their own.

"Ah, Rose. That dummy just moved its head," I said as I backed away slowly.

She turned around just as it decided to move out of its spot and turned towards us. Rose backed away slowly just as I did.

"Heh… You got me, very funny," said Rose as we continue to back away.

It doesn't stop advancing and two more join in.

"I don't think that they are going to stop, just because you want them to, Rose."

"Right, I've got the joke! Whose idea is this? Was it Derek's?" said Rose.

"Who's Derek?" I asked but I got ignored. For good reason, anyway.

Despite the fact that me and Rose where still backing away, the dummies were still advancing. I turned my head around to see if we were going to crash into anything, only to see more standing there, watching us from behind.

"Ahh, Rose, we better hurry," I said, starting to panic.

"Derek, is it you?" Rose continued.

I still wanted to know who Derek was. He seems to be getting more attention than me at this point in time. But as I was complaining in my head about the lack of attention I was getting, more of the dummies had come alive. So we were at the point where we were backing up slowly, Rose keeping an eye on them and me navigating around the boxes. But I hadn't done a great job as Rose tripped over a box that I didn't see.

"Oops, sorry," I laughed sheepishly. She just glared at me and quickly stood back up.

We ended back up against the wall. The dummy that was in front of us raised its arm to strike Rose. I grabbed hold of her hand just as she closed her eyes. What I didn't see coming was a larger hand grabbing hold of my hand. I quickly looked up to see a larger man with a very, very short hair, wearing a black leather jacket with a burgundy V-necked T-shirt underneath and black pants.

"Run!" he said as he then pulled us along, since I still had hold of Rose's hand.

We were pulled through the fire exit just as I could hear a clang and a gas sort of sound. I guess they smashed the gas pipe, I don't know. Anyway, the man was still pulling us even with the dummies still following. It was a long run and who even knew that the dummies could even run. Though, I would've laugh if one had fallen over, if I wasn't running for my life. Once we finished running down the corridor, that in my opinion was too long, the man dragged us into the lift.

He pushed the buttons to try and get the doors to close quicker though one of the dummy's arms had gotten stuck in the doors as it was closing. I went to get as far away from it as I can as the man wrestled with the arm and managed to pull it off. At least the door closed. And the arm had stopped moving.

"You pulled his arm off!" said Rose.

"At least they're not still following us," I said, wanting to be a part of this and not to get ignored, again.

"Yep! Plastic. That's one way to look at it, Emily," he said as he tossed the arm to Rose.

Wait, what? What did he just say? How did he know my name? But of course I didn't get a chance to ask as Rose spoke before I did.

"Very clever, nice trick! Who are they then, students? Is this a student thing or what?"

Well, she it seems that she didn't catch the fact that some random guy knew her best friends name. Or she didn't care. Or she did but was more concerned about students playing a prank on her.

"Why would they be students?" he asked, as if he didn't know.

"I don't know," she replied.

I'm still feeling ignored here. I'm just gonna stand here quietly then. See if I care.

"Well, you said it! Why students?" he said, still standing at the front of the lift.

"Cause…to get that many people dressed up and being silly…they gotta be students."

The man grins then looks at me.

"That makes sense! Well done. Why are you being all quiet over there, Emily? You're usually a lot more chatty then this," he said to me.

"Well, first off, I was feeling ignored, so I was gonna stand here quietly. And second, how the hell do you know my name?" I asked.

"Don't you know who I am? Well, I guess I do look a bit different but I'm still me."

"Who are you?" I asked.

His grin disappears.

"They're not students," he said, completely ignoring my question. It was a valid question. Why is it that he knows my name but I don't know his? That's completely unfair.

"Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's gonna call the police."

Now another name that I don't know. Though given that I don't know most of the people that Rose works with.

"Who's Wilson?" the man and I ask in sync.

I looked at him in surprise and he just grinned at me. I couldn't help but chuckle at the silliness of it.

"Chief electrician," Rose replied.

Ok, so when I ask who someone is, I get ignored. But when he asks, he gets an answer. Still not fair. I pout.

"Wilson's dead," he replied. Ok, that makes it depressing now. I didn't even know the guy.

Anyway, at that moment, the lift doors open up and steps out of the lift and we both follow.

"That's not funny, that's sick!" Rose shouted at him, still holding onto the arm.

"Hold on! Mind your eyes," he said as he pushed us to the side.

Hold on? Hold on to what? And what does he mean, mind our eyes?

He then points something silvery with a light on the end to the lift controls. The controls then spark, for some reason.

"I've had enough of this now!" Rose yells.

I'm enjoying this, for some reason. Well, other than the fact that the dummies in the shop have come to life and some strange man knows my name. But other than that, I'm enjoying this. The man then walks off. I really do need to find out his name. I can't just keep calling him a stranger.

"Who are you, then? Who's that lot down there? I said, who are they?" Rose asked.

I really wanted to know the answer to the first question. I wanted to know the answer to the other one as well, but I really wanted to know his name.

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof. Which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He then shows us a device which had all sorts of buttons and lights that I don't understand are for. He then opens the fire exit for us. "So! I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might die in the process. But don't worry about me, no. Go home, go on! Go and have your lovely beans on toast."

Wait, what? He might die?! I've only just gotten to meet him and he might die. That doesn't sit well with me. Also, I hate beans. They make me fart. He then pushes us through the door and flashes me a quick grin which I'm really confused about. How does he know me when I've never met him before?

"Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed," he said.

How would it get them killed? Also, as if anyone would believe me. And if I had anyone to tell it to. I'm such a loner. Well, I won't be able to ask as he shut the door. Not a second later, the door opened again.

"I'm the Doctor, by the way, what's your name?" he asks.

Yes! I finally have a name. But who the hell calls himself the Doctor?

"Rose," said, as you guessed it, Rose.

"Emily, but you already know that," I said.

"Yep. Nice to meet you, Rose. Emily, until we see each other again. Run for your life."

What does he mean, until we see each other again? He brings up more questions than answers. He then shuts the door, again. We both looked at each other and ran for it. We both ran down the street, still holding on to the plastic arm for some reason. I don't know why, though. Though, because Rose wasn't paying that much attention to things around her, she nearly got run over by a taxi. The driver yelled something at her but I wasn't about to catch what he said. We got as far away from the building and when we thought that we were at a safe distance, we managed to look back just in time for the top floor to blow up. As a lot of people were now running, Rose decided to run home and I followed, only glancing back to see a blue telephone box we had just ran by.

I was laying on the chair in the living room, half asleep half listening to the TV. The dummy's arm was lying on the floor, near my chair. The main reason I wasn't asleep yet was because Jackie was on the phone. And she talks loudly.

"I know, it's on the telly! It's everywhere! She's lucky to be alive. Honestly, it's aged her. Skin like an old bible. Walking in now you'd think I was HER daughter. Oh and here's himself…"

Why does everyone like to ignore me? Given that I don't think that she knows that I was there also. But does she ask? No. At least Mickey is now here.

"I've been phoning your mobile, you could've been dead! It's on the news and everything! I can't believe that your shop went up!" he said to Rose.

Feeling slightly ignored here, Mickey. He even gave her a hug. I know he's her boyfriend and everything but I want to feel included as well.

"I'm alright, honestly. I'm fine! Don't make a fuss," Rose said.

"I'm fine too, in case anyone was wondering," I added. Mickey looked over at me and looked apologetic.

"Sorry Emily," he said sheepishly.

I just waved him off. At least he apologised.

"Well, what happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," Rose replied.

"I don't know either, so don't ask me," I added as he turned towards me.

"What was it though, what caused it?" he asked.

"I wasn't in the shop, I was outside, I didn't see anything…" she replied.

And now I'm ignored, again. Why do I put up with this? Oh yeah, they're letting me stay here. And now here's Jackie, with the god damn phone.

"It's Debbie on the other end, she knows a man form the Mirror. Five hundred quid for an interview!"

"Oh that's brilliant! Give it here!" she better not be doing what I think she's gonna do.

Rose took it and hung up. Just what I thought she would do. Just a feeling that I got.

"Well, you've gotta find some way of making money. Your jobs kaput and I'm not bailing you out. And Emily doesn't even have a job so she can't help you." Wait, so now you decide to include me. Just as I was about to say something about that, her phone rings again. I'm telling you, I'm this close to destroying that darn thing. "Beth! She's alive! I tell ya, sue for compensation! She was within seconds from death…"

Thank god that she's gone. I don't think that I could stand another second of her talking on the phone.

"What are you drinking?" wait, when did she get a drink? I could've wanted one but no one asks me. "Tea? No, no, no, that's no good, that's no good. You're in shock, you need something stronger."

"Why?" she asked.

Yeah, why would she need something stronger? She's not in that much shock. What are you up to Mickey?

"You deserve a proper drink, you, me and Emily, if she wants to," he looks at me and I shake my head. I now know where this is headed. "We're going down to the pub, my treat. How about it?"

Rose just smiled. She too knows what's going on. I just find how funny it is that he thinks he can get away with it and call it a coincidence.

"Is there a match on?" she asked

"Yep," I replied, being cheeky.

He just gave me a slight glare and turned back to Rose.

"I'm just thinking about you, babe!"

Right, you totally wanted to see the match. Though if I ever get a boyfriend, he is never calling me 'babe'. It's not even cute.

"There's a match on, ain't there," said Rose. Yeah, she got him there.

I sat up properly, now more interested in where this was headed then trying to get any sleep.

"Well, that's not the point. We could catch the last five minutes."

"Go on then. I'm fine, really. Go. Get rid of that…"

She points to the dummy's arm that is now near my feet. Mickey just points at his lips and I turn away because I know what that means. I turn around when I hear laughter and it looks like Rose had fallen into the chair. Rose tried to trip him but fails. He just waves with the arm and I just waved back.

"Buh bye!"

"Bye!" replied Rose.

"Bye Mickey!" I yelled out to him.

Mickey pretended to strangle himself with the arm and left. I smiled and went to sleep.

I could hear Jackie yelling from wherever she is. My guess was that Rose's usual alarm went off and Jackie reminded her that she has no job to go to.

I finally dragged myself out of bed and got ready for the day. Don't know what I'm gonna do but I have to get dressed and do my teeth or Rose would kill me.

"…and I'm not joking about getting compensation. You've had genuine shock and trauma! Arianna got two thousand quid from the council just because the old man behind the desk said she looked Greek! I know she IS Greek, but that's not the point, it's a valid claim."

Now what is Jackie on about? All I heard was something about compensation. I saw Rose stand up and I moved to follow her. I mean, what could she possibly be doing when Jackie was talking to her? Well, I'm mostly curious and I don't want Jackie to start talking to me. I didn't get enough sleep, alright. Anyway, I found her over near the cat flap that I had nailed down weeks ago, only to find that the nails had come out.

"Mum, you're such a liar, I told you to nail the cat flap down. We're going to get strays!" Rose yells.

"I did it weeks back!" Jackie yelled back from wherever she is.

"No, you thought about it!" Rose replied.

"And I actually did it because I knew that she wouldn't," I added in.

I walked over and looked down at the cat flap. As I was examining it, I noticed the nails on the floor. I picked one up and showed Rose. Just when I showed her, the cat flap moved. It scared Rose and made her fall back. I laughed as she fell and even more when she gave it a nudge, as if it was a wild animal. I went over and pushed it open, only to find the man's, the Doctor, from the day before, head right outside it. It gave me a slight fright and I quickly opened the door.

"What are you doing here? And Emily, I thought you would've been in the Tardis?" he asked.

The what? What's a Tardis? And still, how the hell does he know me?

"We live here. Well, she lives here, they are just letting me stay," I replied.

"Well, what do you do that for?" he asked, confused.

Does he not know why people live in houses? What is he, an alien?

"Because we do! And I'm only at home because someone blew up my job," Rose accused.

Well it was a fair enough point. I would be annoyed if someone blew up my job. But, oh well. I don't have one in the first place. He even got his thingamabob out and the light lit up.

"Must've got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you? Well, I'm mean, I know Emily's not but have to make sure with you." He knocks on Rose's forehead. I laughed and he cracked a grin. "No, bonehead. Bye, then!"

The hell he is going anywhere without answering my questions. I mean, the more he's around, the more I get. He moved to go but I grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back inside. He didn't even protest, which I find weird. As if he wanted me to grab him. Rose just closed the door behind us and followed.

"Who is it?" I heard from wherever Jackie is, I think her bedroom, I don't know.

I heard Rose say something then disappear to wherever. I seem to not know a lot of things, like where the hell people wonder off to. Not that I care or anything.

I just stood in the hallway, waiting for Rose to come back. I'm guessing that was also the Doctor's idea as well as he was just leaning against the doorframe. I was just about to question him about his knowledge of me when Jackie spoke up.

"I'm in my dressing gown," Jackie said, flirtatiously.

For some reason, that made a shiver go down my spine. I think it was a bad shiver, probably because she is flirting with someone with me nearby. I mean, he is a handsome man, with his leather jacket and dominating personality and deep voice that-. What the hell am I thinking! I only just met the guy! How the hell can I be thinking that kind out stuff about someone I just met? I really need to get myself a boyfriend if this is how I'm gonna act.

"Yes, you are," the Doctor replied.

And he didn't even sound interested. At all. I don't know if I should be happy about that or not.

"There's a strange man in my bedroom," she continued.

If he doesn't sound interested the first time, please just stop already. It just makes me feel awkward at this point.

"Yes, there is," he replied.

And he still doesn't sound interested. I wonder if he has a partner. I mean, if he does, that's good for me. It means I can back off. But if he doesn't, that means I can have a shot….that I am not going to use because I'm not interested in the guy. Not one bit. Got that brain. I'm not interested.

"Well, anything could happen," and she's still trying. Just give it a rest already.

"No," he replied.

I don't know if I should be happy about that or not. It means that nothing is going to happen between them and I get a chance. And he walked off and I followed, hoping to get a chance to talk to him. I ended up following him the living room where Rose was trying to tidy up.

"Don't mind the mess. Do you want coffee?" Rose asked.

"My wife is always leaving stuff around. Might as well, thanks! Just milk."

Wait, wife. He's married. Now that I get a good look at him, I can see the plain gold ring on his finger. Well, now I definitely know that I can't have him. Then again, I would be surprised if someone like him was single. But that doesn't explain why he gave me a grin when he mentioned wife. What the hell. Stop causing more questions.

Rose went into the kitchen to start making the coffee. I didn't pay her much attention as I was rather focused on the man who was flipping through a magazine. Rose said something about going to the police but I doubt that they will believe us. I mean, moving dummies. They would think that we were crazy or trying to pull a prank on them.

"That won't last. He's gay and she's an alien." Who's an alien? What magazine is this? He also flicked through a book, don't know which one and said something about a sad ending.

"They said on the news they'd found a body." Wait, really? Who's body? Could it have been Derek's or Wilson?

The Doctor then looked at the mail and talked aloud to himself. "Rose Tyler and Emily Black." He then had a quick glance around a saw a mirror. He looked at himself like he had never seen his face before. "Ahh, could've been worse. Look at me' ears." Now that was a bit weird. Who hasn't seen their own face before?

I had lost all interest in what Rose was saying at this point. I was more interested in what the Doctor was trying to achieve with the cards. He gave them a shuffle and managed to make them all go flying everywhere. I don't think he achieved what he wanted. I then heard a scuffling noise from behind the sofa.

"What's that then? You got a cat?

"No," I replied, also curious about the noise. But as soon as he looked behind the sofa, the dummy's arm leaped out and grabbed him by the neck. I reacted quickly, as I rushed towards him to try and pull it off. I had hold of the arm and I heard Rose say in the background

"-anyway, I don't even know your name, Doctor…what was it?" Really, is this the best time to ask? Don't you see that he's being strangled by the arm that Mickey was meant to throw out? I managed to get the arm to let go of his neck own for it to grab hold of my face. The doctor immediately leaped up to try and get it off my face. But of course, in his attempt to get it off me, we both crash into the glass coffee table, thus breaking it and rolled onto the floor. He pushed me gently on the sofa and got out his silver thingy, stopping the hand, somehow. I just looked at him as he took my face in his hand and gave it a quick look over.

"It's alright, I've stopped it. There you go, you see? Armless." He tossed the arm in Rose's direction. I was more confused at how gentle he was being, how concerned he was. Here he was with a wife and he looked at me with concern and….love? How can he be in love with me if he already has a wife? Also, we only met yesterday.

"Do you think?" Rose then proceeded to whack him on the shoulder.

"Ow!" he complained.

"What was that for, Rose?" I asked.

"Because he hasn't explained what's going on, how he knows your name or why he's acting so concerned and in love with you when he has a wife?" So she did notice. I should've given her more credit. I am her best friend and all. I suppose she would notice when a stranger knows my name and I wouldn't have any idea who he is.

"Good point."

The Doctor ran down the stairs with me and Rose hot on his tail. He was holding the dummy's arm in one hand and for some reason, pulling me along with the other. He did it like it was natural for him to do. I didn't complain, oddly enough.

"Hold on a minute, you can't just go swanning off," Rose called as she ran after us.

"Yes I can. Here I am, this is me, swanning off. Come on Emily. See ya!"

"Wait, what makes you think I want to go with you? I don't even know you," I pointed out.

He stopped and turned towards me. He moved the hand that was holding mine to my face.

"One day you will know why. Until that day, you will have to trust me. Things might not make sense now but they will. Just know that you mean more to me than you think." And with that, he grabbed my hand and continued to run down the stairs. Ok, so that didn't clear much up. I didn't get much of a chance to ask as Rose continued to talk.

"That arm was moving, it tried to kill Emily!" A dark look quickly passed over the Doctor's face.

"Ten out of ten for observation," he scoffed.

"You can't just walk away, that's not fair! You've got to tell me what's going on," she weakly commanded.

"No I don't," he replied.

We finally reached the bottom of the stairs and went through the doors. Rose was still trying to get him to tell her what was going on. Don't get me wrong, I want to know to but I have a feeling that I will find out in time.

"Alright then. I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone. You said, if I did that, I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell me, or I'll start talking.

"Is that supposed to sound tough?" Even I can tell that was a weak attempt.

"Sort of," she replied.

"Doesn't work." But I can see the small smile on his face. Then again, I had a big grin on mine. Really, Rose had never been the most commanding type of person when with people that she didn't know. Then again, neither have I.

"Who are you?" she asked, after however many times we have asked in total.

"I told you! The Doctor," he answered.

"Yeah. But Doctor what?" she asked. I laughed. Imagine have the name Doctor What. The Doctor looked at me and cracked a grin.

"Just the Doctor." It sounded like he said this a lot.

"The Doctor," I repeated.

"Hello!" and he gave me a small wave and grinned. I laughed and he beamed. Rose was on the other side of him and gave a small laugh.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" Rose asked. I just looked at him as he turned to answer her question.

"Sort of." I laughed. I don't know why I seem to be laughing. I don't hang around much guys that often. Yet with this man, he makes me feel comfortable around him. That he makes me feel safe. That he made sure I was ok when the arm attacked me and just now when he's holding my hand. Then there's that thing about his wife. I get the weirdest feeling that there is more to the story then I know.

"Come on. You can tell me. I've seen enough. Are you the police?" I look at him and he doesn't seem to look like an officer.

"No. I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home." How long is long? Is he able to get home?

"But what have we done wrong? How come those plastic things keep coming after us?" Rose asked. Really, does she ever run out of questions? Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

"Oh! Suddenly the entire world revolves around you! You were just an accident, you got in the way, that's all." Does he not know how to put it nicely?

"It tried to kill Emily!" I know, I was there. A dark looked quickly passed over his face. What, doesn't he like it when I get injured? Not that anyone should like when someone gets injured, but he only just met me. Well, at least I only just met him. He seems to know me fairly well.

"It was after me, not you! Last night, in the shop, I was there, you blundered it. Almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down…the only reason it fixed on you is that you met me." I was there too. So why didn't he mention me?

"So what your saying is, the world revolves around you," I asked.

"Sort of, yeah," he replied with a grin to me.

"You're so full of it!" Rose added in.

"Sort of, yeah," he replied.

"But all this plastic stuff, who else knows about it?" Rose asked.

"No one," he replied.

"What, you're on your own?" I asked, concerned.

"Well, my wife travels with me but she comes and goes all the time. Bit of a problem for me at this point in time as she just looks at me and doesn't know who I am. But other than that, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly. When all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on!" How can his wife not know who he is? And why did his grin fall when he looked at me?

"Ok, start from the beginning.

"If you're gonna go with this living plastic, and even I don't believe that, but if we do…how do you kill it?" Rose asked.

"The thing controlling it projects a signal into the arm. I cut off the signal, dead."

"So, that's radio control?" I asked, trying to understand it.

"Thought control. Are you alright?" Wait, what's wrong with Rose? I don't see anything wrong with her.

"Yeah. So, who's controlling it, then?"

"Long story," he replied.

"But what's that all for? I mean, shop window dummies…what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" Rose asked. Why would someone want to take over the shops? I don't think that they would achieve anything. But still, we all laugh. 'Cause still, the idea is still funny.

"No," he answered.

"I know," she replied. Do you really, Rose?

"It's not a price war." We all laugh again and then he suddenly stops laughing. "They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?"

"No," replied Rose.

"I do!" I grinned. He just gave me a grin back.

"That's just because you believe in aliens," Rose told me.

"Just because you have never met an alien does not mean that they don't exist, Rose," I answered back.

"But you're both still listening," said the Doctor.

I kept on walking with the man and I didn't even notice that Rose had stopped until I heard her voice from behind me.

"Really though, Doctor. Tell me. Who are you?"

The Doctor stopped and I turned to look at him. I also wanted to know but that wasn't what I wanted to know at that point.

"Do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving?" He walked back to her and I followed him, due to him still holding my hand. "It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't believe it because everything looks like its standing still. I can feel it." He took her hand. "The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour and the entire earth is hurdling around the sun at 67 thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you, me and Emily. Clinging to the skin of this tiny world, and if we let go…" he let go of her hand. He didn't let go of mine, strangely enough. "That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler. And take Emily with you. Go home." He let go of my hand and took the dummy's arm and used it to wave at us.

He walked off and we watched his retreating back. We started to walk back and we heard a strange, grinding noise. I look at Rose and we ran back. When we got to where we thought the sound had come from, there was nothing there. I turned to Rose and shrugged and started to walk away.

"Hey Emily, I'm going to Mickey's to use his computer to see if I can find any information. Do you want to come?" Rose asked.

"And watch you two flirt, no thanks. Just let me know if you find anything," I replied.

"Ok." And she left. Now I had some time to get some sleep without interruptions.

Rose, Mickey and I were sitting in his car. And they were having a slight disagreement.

"You're not coming in! He's safe, he's got a wife and kids," Rose argued.

"Yeah but who told you that? He did. That's exactly what an internet lunatic murderer would say," he replied.

They both turned towards me, my guess to whose side I would take but I just put my hands up and shook my head. I'm staying out of this. Rose and I both got out of the car anyway, her grinning. Mickey on the other hand, didn't look to happy.

I followed Rose to a house that I'm assuming that the man lives at. Rose knocked on the door and a boy answered who looked about 11.

"Uh, hello, we've come to see Clive? We've been emailing," Rose told him.

"Dad! It's one of your nutters!" I looked at Rose.

"Do we really look like nutters?" I asked. She just shrugged. A man appeared at the door who I'm assuming is Clive.

"Sorry. Hello. You must be Rose. I'm Clive. Obviously!" he introduced.

"Hi, I'm Emily," I introduced. He gave me a smile.

"I better tell you now, my boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're going to murder me!" I had to laugh at that. Mickey is such a worrywart sometimes.

"No, good point. No murders." Clive waves to Mickey, who nods but still looks distrustful from what I can see.

"Who is it," said a female voice from upstairs.

"Oh it's something to do with the Doctor! She's been reading the website. Please come through, I'm in the shed," he replied.

She comes down stairs carrying a washing basket.

"She? She read a website about the Doctor? She's a she?"

What is going on? It sounds like she doesn't want him around other females.

She smiles ironically and shuts the door.

Clive showed me and Rose around the shed. There was quite a bit of stuff dedicated to the Doctor.

"A lot of this stuff is quite sensitive. I couldn't just send it to you. People might intercept it, if you know what I mean. If you dig deep enough – keep a lively mind – this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place. Political diaries, conspiracy theories. Even ghost stories. No first name, no last name. Just 'The Doctor'. Always The Doctor. And the title seems to have passed down from father to son, it appears to be an inheritance. That's your Doctor there, isn't it?"

He showed us a photo to the Doctor on the computer screen. And it looked just like him, funny enough.

"Yeah," I answered.

"I tracked it down to the Washington public archive last year. The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original…" he showed us some photos of the Doctor standing in a crowd at the time and place of the assassination of JFK. "November the 22nd, 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy."

"Must be his father…" Rose added.

"Going further back… April 1912." He brought over a photo album. "This is a photo of the Daniels family, Southampton. And friend." He pointed to the Doctor, who was standing with them. "This was taken the day before they were due to sail off for the New World. On the Titanic. And for some unknown reason, they cancelled the trip and survived. And…" he showed us a sketch. "1883. Another Doctor. And look – the same lineage. He's identical. This one washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very day Krakatoa exploded. The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He has a storm in his wake. And he has one constant and one semi-constant companion."

"Who's that," Rose asked.

"Death and his wife," Clive replied.

"Who's his wife," I asked. I've heard it mentioned a few times, that he has a wife. But who is she?

"All I know is that she has been referred to as Wolf. Other than that, not much. Just that she's his wife and that they love each other very much." That's not very much to go on. Just that she is referred as Wolf and that she loves the Doctor very much. "Was she with him?"

"I didn't see her, no. Though he did mention her a few times. Not by name, just that he has a wife and that at that point in time, she doesn't know who he is," I answered. He just looked disappointed.

"Oh well. Anyway, if the Doctor's back… if you've seen him, Emily, Rose… then one thing's for certain, we're all in danger." Not ominous at all. Not one bit. "If he's singled you two out… if the Doctor is making house calls… then God help you."

"Who is he? Who do you think he is?" Rose asked.

"I think he is the same man. I think he's immortal. I think he's an alien from another world."

That caught my interest. I was about to ask more about the Doctor but Rose pulled me away towards the door. I take it that we are now leaving? Rose had started talking before we even got to the car.

"Alright! He's a nutter! Off his head! COMPLETE online conspiracy freak. You win! He did seem to catch Emily's interest with the information about him. Oof."

"Oi, of course I would be interested. When a guy that knows your name but you know him, you would be interested too. Or think he is a stalker."

We both got in the car. I looked at Mickey to see if he was being his usual smug self about being right when I saw that he looked a bit odd. I got an uneasy feeling and I was about to tell Rose when she started talking.

"What're we going to do tonight? I fancy a pizza," she asked.

"Pizzaaa! P-p-p-pizza!" he replied. Ok, now I know something is wrong with him.

"…or a Chinese…" she also suggested.

"Pizza!" he decided.

"Can I come too?" I asked.

"Sure," she replied. Good, because I wasn't going to leave her alone when something is wrong with Mickey.

We all sat down at a table for four in a restaurant. I sat down next to Rose, who was across from Mickey.

"Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had a few jobs going in the canteen. That's it then… dishing out chips… I could do A levels…" 'Mickey' just continues to stare at her, grinning. I'm watching you mister. "I dunno. It's all Jimmy Stone's fault. I only left school because of him, and look where he ended up. What do you think?"

"I think that you should do whatever you want. Don't let anyone hold you back," I replied.

"Thanks Emily," Rose said, smiling.

"So, where did you meet this Doctor?" 'Mickey' asked.

"I'm sorry, wasn't I talking about me for a second?" Rose asked.

Well, well, well. What do we have here? Why would he care more about the Doctor then his own girlfriend?

"Because, I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? Is he something to do with that?" he asked.

"No…" Rose replied.

"Come on."

"Sort of."

"What was he doing there?"

"I'm not going on about him, Mickey, I'm not. Because, I know it sounds daft but… I don't think he's safe. I think he's dangerous."

I looked around, trying to see if anyone else looked…odd. I didn't see anyone but I did see what I think is the Doctor in a waiters uniform. He raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. I smiled.

"I think he's safe," I added. But I was ignored.

"But you can trust me sweetheart!" said 'Mickey. "Babe, sugar, darling, sugar," he added quickly.

Ok, now what the hell is going on?

"You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really want to do, sweetheart, babe, sugar, sweetheart."

"What are you doing that for?" Rose asked.

The Doctor started to approach the table. I just smiled in his direction and he grinned back.

"Your champagne," said the waiter/Doctor.

"We didn't order any champagne. Where is the Doctor?" 'Mickey' asked.

The Doctor simply went to Rose's side of the table and offered it to her.

"Ma'am. Your champagne," the Doctor tries.

"It's not ours… Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?" Rose asked.

Uh, everything. I mean, get a closer look at him Rose. Does he look like a human with flesh?

"I need to find out how much you know, so where is he?" he asked.

I know the answer to that one. If you were smart, you would've found him by now. Stupid.

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?" the Doctor asked.

'Mickey' looked up at the Doctor for the first time.

"Look, we didn't order i… ah. Gotcha."

The Doctor just shakes the bottle. Does champagne act the same as soda when it gets shaken? Well, it seems I'm about to find out.

"Don't mind me. I'm just toasting the happy couple. On the house!"

The cork pops out and hits 'Mickey' squarely on the forehead. It went into his head and he spat it out of his mouth. Huh, so it does act the same. And it seems that Rose finally figured it out that he's fake. Good job.

"Good to see you Doctor," I smiled. He grinned back.

"Anyway," the fake Mickey started as his hands turned into clubs and he smashed the table. Rose and I ran out of the way as the Doctor pulled his head off. "Don't think that's gonna stop me."

Some people nearby screamed but the Doctor just grinned. Rose went to ring the fire bell.

"Everyone out! Out now!" Rose yelled.

Everyone ran for the exit whereas the fake Mickey was still destroying stuff.

"Get out! Get out! Get out!" I yelled.

We all ran through the kitchen and out the back exit. The Doctor once again holding onto my hand.

We ended up in a yard with locked gates. The Doctor did something to the metal door that we ran through with his silver tube thing. Rose banged on the gates.

"Open the gate! Use that tube thing, come on!" Rose yelled.

"What, this? This is a sonic screwdriver," he replied.

"Oh, so that's what it's called," I thought out loud. He just grinned at me.

"Use it!" Rose yelled.

"Nah. Tell ya what, let's go in here," the Doctor said.

He approached a police box that was in the middle of the yard that I didn't notice and unlocked it. I followed after him and what I saw was amazing. Inside of the police box was a large room. It had a console sort of thing in the middle with all sorts of buttons that I wouldn't begin to understand. It also had hallways branching off, meaning it was still bigger. While I was still in amazement, Rose had come in and then went straight out again. A moment later she came back in again and I had stopped staring in amazement.

"It's gonna follow us!" Really Rose, can't you just appreciate that fact that this is amazing?

"The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried. Now, shut up a minute," said the Doctor.

Rose was just now looking how huge the room is compared to the outside. I think she might be in shock. I'm just happy that something this amazing exists. The Doctor was wiring up the head to something.

"You see, the arm is too simple, but the head's perfect," he started. "I can use it to trace the signal to the original source. Right. Where do you two want to start?"

"Um…the inside is bigger than the outside?" I started.

"Yes," he said.

"It's alien," said Rose.

"Yup."

"Are you alien?" I asked.

"Yes. Is that alright?" he asked.

"Fine with me," I smiled. He flashed me a grin.

"Yeah," Rose said quickly.

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S, that's Time And Relative Dimensions In Space." Rose started to sob. "That's ok. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us."

"Did they kill him? Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?" Rose sobbed.

Shit. I forgot about him. I hope he is alright though.

"Oh… didn't think about that," he replied.

"He's my boyfriend. You pulled off his head. They copied him and you didn't even think. And now you're just going to let him melt?!"

Melt? What do you mean, melt? I looked over to where the plastic head is and saw that it was, in fact, melting.

"Melt?" even he looked confused for a moment. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"

He started running frantically around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers.

"What are you doing?!" Rose yelled.

"Reviving the signal, it's fading! Wait, I've got it… No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" the TARDIS, I think that's what he called it, started to shake. "Almost there! Almost there! Here we go!"

The engines stop and the Doctor ran out without a word. I followed out after him and I noticed that we had changed locations.

"That was amazing," I exclaimed. The Doctor flashed me a grin.

Rose came out, looking confused. Again.

"We've moved! Does it fly?" she asked.

"Disappears there, reappears here, you wouldn't understand," he said offhandedly.

"But if we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing? It's still on the loose," said Rose.

"It melted with the head, are you going to witter on all night?" he asked. Suddenly, he ducked his head. I looked at him strangely. "My wife usually hits me for being rude," he muttered.

"Well, I was tempted too," I replied.

"I know."

"I'll have to tell his mother…" said Rose.

The Doctor just looked at her, questioningly.

"Mickey! I'll have to tell his mother he's dead, and you went and forgot him, again," she stated.

He just rolled his eyes, unconcerned.

"You were right, you ARE alien," she said.

She turned to walk away, I just stayed.

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey…" he started.

"Yeah, he's not a kid," she interrupted.

"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, alright?"

"Alright!" she yelled.

"Yes! It is!" he yelled in return.

They both looked like children, disagreeing over something.

"If you are an alien, then how come it sounds like you're from the North?" she asked.

"Lots of planets have a North," he said, defensively. He crossed his arms and looked away.

"I like your accent, if it makes you feel any better," I said. He looked at me and smiled. "Also, what's a police public call box?"

"It's a telephone box from the 1950's. It's a disguise," he explained.

I smiled and he grinned.

"Ok. And this living plastic, what's it got against us?" Rose asked.

"Nothing, it loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air… perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotten, so Earth… dinner!"

"Any way of stopping it?" I asked.

Grinning, the Doctor pulled a tube of blue liquid from inside his jacket.

"Anti-plastic!" he said, happily.

"Anti-plastic…" Rose said in disbelief.

"Anti-plastic! But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" he asked himself.

"Hold on… hide what?" I asked.

"The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal," he answered.

"What's it look like?" Rose asked, trying to help.

"Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London," he replied. He paced around, agitated, looking for a clue. "A huge circular metal structure… like a dish…" He turned to face us, his back to the railing. "…like a wheel. Close to where we are standing. Must be completely invisible."

I just stared at the Eye behind him.

"What?" he asked.

Rose nodded towards the Eye. He turned around, then back to her, confused.

"What?" he asked again.

I shook my head, still looking at the Eye. He turned around but he still didn't make the connection.

"What is it? What?"

We continue to stare at it and he turned around again, finally it clicks.

"Oh…fantastic!" He then took my face in his hands and gave me a quick kiss. I stood there, in shock. He grinned insanely, grabbed my hand and ran off, taking me with him, still in shock about the kiss.

We came to a halt at the foot of the Eye.

"Think of it. Plastic, all over the world. Every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables…" he started.

"The breast implants…" said Rose.

"Really, Rose, breast implants. That's the best you could think of?" I asked. She just shrugged.

"Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath," said the Doctor.

Rose ran off and called us over a moment later.

"What about down here?" she asked.

The Doctor and I ran over to join her.

"Looks good to me," he answered.

We ran downstairs to the manhole. The Doctor takes the lid off, and red light and smoke pour out.

"Well, if that isn't a sign of something evil, then I don't know what is," I said as I started to climb down after them.

The Doctor opened the door to another chamber once I had joined them and we went down some stairs. The Doctor pointed at a huge, orange, wobbling blob in the middle of the chamber.

"The Nestene Consciousness, that's it, inside the vat. A living, plastic creature."

"Well, then. Tip in your anti-plastic and lets go," Rose told the Doctor.

"Rose, you can't just kill it straight away," I said to Rose.

"I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance," the Doctor told Rose.

We went down the steps and to the railings. The Doctor leaned over the railings and addressed the orange thing…sorry I mean, the Consciousness.

"I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract. According to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation." It flobbled around a bit. I'm guessing that's how it communicates. "Thank you. If I might have permission to approach."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rose run to Mickey. Huh, what do you know, they kept him alive. The Doctor, with me just following behind, walked up to a platform where we could see the blob more clearly. I couldn't really hear what they were saying until Rose called out to the Doctor,

"Doctor, they kept him alive!"

"Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy."

"You know that and you never said?"

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" The Doctor then turned back to the orange blob. "Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warped, shunted technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?"

I covered my mouth with my hand to help stop my laughter but the Doctor heard it going by the fact that he gave me a quick grin but his attention was drawn away by the angry plastic.

"Oh don't give me that, it's an invasion! Plain and simple! Don't talk about constitution rights!" The plastic rears its…head angrily. If you would call it a head, anyway. "I…am…talking! This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt to walk, but they are capable of so much more. So I'm asking you on their behalf – please, just go."

Three of the shop window dummies approached me and the Doctor from behind. I heard Rose call out for us.

"Emily! Doctor!"

The dummies grab us, one of them taking the anti-plastic out of his jacket pocket.

"That was just insurance! I wasn't going to USE it," said the Doctor. The plastic bubbles angrily. "I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not…what do you mean?"

The doors above us open to reveal the TARDIS.

"Oh, oh no, honestly, no! Yes, that's my ship," the Doctor continues. The plastic roars. "That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!"

I look over at the Doctor and I wanted to comfort him. The distraught look on his face. He fought in a war and he must've lost so much. To bare such a burden.

"Doctor, what's it doing?" I asked.

"It's the TARDIS! The Nestene has identified its superior technology. It's terrified. It's going to the final base. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose! Just leg it! Now!"

Rose decided to call someone, probably Jackie.

"Mum?!...Where are you, mum?...Go home! Just go home, right now!...Mum?! Mum!"

I was paying more attention to the phone call than what was going on around me that I didn't know anything was happening until the Doctor called out,

"It's the activation signal! It's transmitting!"

"It's the end of the world…" said Rose.

"Get out, Rose! Just get out! Run!" I yelled to Rose, still being held hostage with the Doctor. The ceiling started to fall in.

"The stairs have gone!" I heard Rose yell. Rose and Mickey try to get into the TARDIS. "I haven't got the key!"

"We're going to die!" Mickey yells.

The Doctor was trying to get the anti-plastic but isn't quite able to. I don't know what was going to happen if he didn't get to it. Though I have a feeling it might involve us and dying. Next minute Rose came swinging across on a chain. Somehow she managed to kick the dummies holding us hostage into the Nestene, with the anti-plastic. The Consciousness started to writhe and scream. The Doctor managed to get Rose as she swung back.

"Now we are in trouble," said the Doctor.

We all started to run to the TARDIS as the Consciousness started to explode, the Doctor holding my hand as we did. I found that I didn't mind it as much. We managed to reach the TARDIS before it exploded. As we entered, I stared in amazement at the inside of the TARDIS. I can't believe that something like this could existed on earth. Mickey on the other hand, looked terrified.

As soon as we landed, he run straight out of the TARDIS and fell over. The Doctor came over and grabbed my hand as we, including Rose, walked towards the doors. Rose decided to call Jackie but I didn't pay much attention to their conversation as I was more focused on the man next to me. How could a man who I've only known for a short amount of time capture so much of my attention?

Rose's phone call to Jackie must've ended as she ran over towards Mickey, who was over near the wall.

"A fat lot of good you were!" if I had been paying for attention I might've known who that was directed to.

"Nestene Consciousness? Easy," said the Doctor.

"You both were useless in there. You'd both be dead if it wasn't for me," teased Rose.

No need to remind me. I kinda figured out that might've been the outcome.

"Yes, we would. Thank you. Right then! I'll be off! Unless, uh…I don't know…the both you and Emily could come with me," he offered. "This box isn't just a London hopper, you know, it goes anywhere in the universe free of charge."

"Don't! He's an alien! He's a thing!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Oi! Be nice to him, Mickey. He did just save Earth. And to him, we are probably aliens," I defended.

"He's NOT invited. What do you think? You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go, uh…anywhere."

I turn to him. "Is it always this dangerous?"

"Yeah," he nodded in return.

"Sure, I'll come." He grinned at me and gave me a quick one handed hug using the hand that was holding mine.

"Yeah, I can't…I've um…gotta go and find my mum and um…someone's gotta look after this stupid lump…so I guess I'll see you around Emily," said Rose.

"Yeah," I said with a smile and a wave.

"Okay. See you around," the Doctor said to Rose.

The Doctor walked me to the centre of the room, where the console was. He started to flip some switches and other stuff before the TARDIS made its take-off noise. The Doctor looked at me with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Okay, now that we have some time to ourselves, I believe you had some questions you wanted to ask?"

"Finally. First off, how the hell do you know who I am?" I asked.

"Well, this may sound confusing and a bit scary but you sort of jump around my time stream, my life. I don't know how but we kind of meet in the wrong order. The only warning that we get is the headaches."

"Okay, don't know how that is possible but weird stuff has happened today as it is. So would that explain the headaches that I've had for a while?"

"Possibly. You, an older you, told me last that you had already been getting them before you had met me. Still haven't figured out why, though."

"Okay, secondly, who am I to you?" this one had been bugging me since he mentioned he had a wife and now that I supposedly pop up through his life.

The grin dropped from his face. "Spoilers. Anyway, I suppose it's time to see if Rose still wants to come."

He ran back to the console as I ran after him. "What do you mean, spoilers?"

He finished landing the TARDIS when he answered my question. "It means that I can't tell you and that you will have to wait and find out."

He ran towards the door and poked his head out. I don't know what he said but I moment later, I saw Rose enter. She ran over to me and gave me a big hug. I don't know if it was the moment of everything catching up to me or if this is what the Doctor was talking about but I had a headache forming. I looked down as something had caught my attention and I saw this orange flame sort of thing surrounding my hands but it didn't hurt.

I must've caught their attention or something as the Doctor came over. He looked sad whereas Rose looked confused and concerned.

"It looks like you are now leaving," he said to me. "But don't worry. No matter where you go, no matter what time or place, I will be there. Though I may not look like this."

I took comfort in his words then all I could see was the orange flame. I closed my eyes since it became so bright that when I opened them, I didn't have a clue as to where I was. It looked like the TARDIS but it was a different colour and it had furniture in the console room. Though, the person I saw near the console was not the man I was just with.

"Who the hell are you!" I yelled to the older man.


	2. Flatline

**And here is the second chapter. Sorry it is so late. I started it, then I forgot about it. Hopefully the next chapter will take less time. Shout out to the first five who can guess who the Doctor in the next chapter is.**

 **Also, I kinda assuming that people have seen the episode so I'm brushing over the descriptions of the monsters. Some are kinda hard to describe anyway.**

 **I don't own Doctor who or any of its characters. They belong to BBC. I only own Emily.**

"Who the hell are you?!" I yelled to the older man.

I had appeared in the console room, the man in question not far from me. He was an older man with short grey hair, probably in his 50's, wearing a dark blue short coat with red lining, navy cardigan, long collared white shirt buttoned to the top, dark blue trousers.

For a brief moment, I thought I saw a sad look flash across his face but I must've imagined it.

"Where did you just come from? Going by your reaction, you haven't met this me yet," he said to me.

"What do you mean haven't met this you yet? Also, where is the Doctor?" I asked.

"I am the Doctor. Also, you haven't told me where you just were."

"How can you be the Doctor? This Doctor is leather jacket wearing man with a northern accent."

"Going by what you just told me, you were with my 9th self. And weren't you playing attention, Emily? I did say that I don't always look the same."

"Prove it. Give me some reason to believe that you were him," I challenged.

"Ok then. When I first met you, when you were being attacked by the shop dummies, I grabbed you by the hand and whispered 'Run!'" he said, meeting my challenge.

"Holy shit. It really is you. 9th self? Do you mean that you have changed more than 9 times?" I asked.

"Language. And yes, I have regenerated more than 9 times. This is my 12th body. And for future references, if you are ever talking about a different version of myself, other than the one you are with, just refer to me by my number. For example, if you were talking about me, you would call me 12. It makes it less confusing for most," he explained.

"Wait, regenerated and 12th body? Does that mean that you have died 12 times?"

"Simply, yes. But let's not dwell on that. I think what we should be focusing on is what you think so far."

"Think of what?" I asked the man that I now know to be the Doctor.

"Me, this me, anyway. And the whole jumping from one spot to another. You know, the whole situation," he said, gesturing to himself.

"Well, I've only just met you. I haven't had enough time to form an opinion of this you yet. And well, if you promise to always be there, wherever I land, I don't care about the whole jumping from one point to another," I answered.

"Trust me that is one promise that I have never broken. Now Clara should be here soon so you'll have a chance to meet her."

Before I got to say anything, she entered through the doors. She must've see me because she shouted my name and ran towards me to give me a hug.

"Ah, hi. I'm guessing you must be Clara?" I sort of asked.

"Yeah. Wait, how many times have you met me?" she asked.

"Just now," I admitted.

"Oh. Well then. I'm Clara Oswald. Nice to meet you," she introduced.

"Emily Black. Nice to meet you as well, Clara," I smiled.

The Doctor coughed to get our attention back to him. "You could leave all that stuff here, you know. We do have literally acres of room."

I only just noticed that she has a bag with her. I guess I didn't notice because I was being hugged. Oh well.

"Oh, no. it's all right. Danny's got a little bit territorial. The idea of me leaving so much as a toothbrush here. But, still, he's alright with us doing this which I admit is a little bit weird, cos you'd think if he had a problem with me leaving stuff in the Tardis, he'd object to me travelling in the Tardis. But he's not, so."

"Who's Danny?" I asked Clara.

"Boyfriend," she replied.

"OK."

"Sorry. Stopped listening a while ago. Ok. Er, same time you left, same place-ish," said the Doctor, who was doing something on a screen. I couldn't see what, though I have a feeling that even if I did see it, I wouldn't have a clue what it meant.

"Ish? Don't give me an ish," Clara said to the Doctor.

"These reading are very er, ishy," he said still looking at the screen.

"Ish was the best word you could come up with?" I asked the Doctor.

He was about to reply when Clara interrupted him.

"Er, Doctor?"

"Uh huh?"

I turned to face her and I saw what had her attention. The doors to the Tardis had shrunken to about a meter in height. The Doctor had come around the console to see what had her attention and notices the doors. We walked up to it and the Doctor quickly looks at us in surprise. We managed to get out the doors, me and Clara having it the easiest.

When we got out, the Tardis was only just over a meter in height.

"Well. Well, I wonder what caused this. I don't think we're bigger, are we?" the Doctor asked. He scanned her with the sonic screwdriver.

"Bristol? Doctor, we're in Bristol!" Clara complained, having found a sign stating were we are.

"And a hundred and twenty miles from where we should be. Impressive."

"Does this happen often, Doctor?" I asked.

"Not ending up where we should, yes. Most often then I would like. The Tardis shrinking, no. This is new and impressive."

"No. Not impressive. Annoying," Clara continued to complain.

"No. This is impressive," he said, gesturing to the Tardis. "This is annoying." He points to Clara. Lucky for me that I was close enough to hit him on the head. "Ow, what was that for?"

"For being rude to Clara. I may have only just met her but I like her. So don't go being rude to her around me or you will be hit even more."

"Anyway, the Tardis never does this. This is huge! Well, not literally huge. Slightly smaller than usual. Which is huge."

"Yes. I get it. You're excited. When can I go home?" Clara asked.

"Your house isn't going anywhere. And neither is ours until I get this figured out. Could you not just let me enjoy this moment of not knowing something? I mean, it happens so rarely. Look, I don't think this is dangerous, but I wouldn't like you to get squished accidently. Anyway, I need you to help me find out what's caused this."

"Fine. I'll go take a look around."

"Can I go with her, Doctor? As girl bonding time. I wouldn't mind getting to know her," I asked.

"Go ahead while I figure out what's wrong with the Tardis."

Me and Clara went to go and have a look around.

"So, how long have you been traveling with the Doctor?" Clara asked.

"This is the second time I have seen him. The first was just a few hours ago for me with his 9th self," I answer. "What about you?"

"I don't really know. I think it's been about 2 years."

"So what do you do when you aren't travelling with the Doctor?" I asked.

"I'm a teacher. I teach English at Coal Hill School."

"I sucked at English. More like I didn't really pay much attention," I admitted.

"So what do you think of this Doctor so far?" Clara asked.

"He seems like a serious person. Though he's nearly a foot taller than me, which isn't fair. And have you seen his eyebrows. They're…grumpy. But other than all that, I don't mind him."

"Interesting."

"So, tell me more about Danny."

"Well, he's been in the military and he teaches maths at the same school that I do. He's a nice guy, you'll like him."

"So athletic and smart. Nice."

We went towards an underpass when we saw a shrine with flowers and pictures. Not a moment later someone called out to us.

"Cheer up, loves. Might never happen." Someone spoke to him then he called out again. "Oh, sorry, loves. I didn't mean nothing by it."

We just ignored them and continued to the underpass. It was decorated with painting of people with their backs towards us. Someone ran up towards us.

"Sorry about them. They're idiots," some guy told us, not the guy who called out before.

"That's alright, don't worry. I've heard worse," Clara told him.

"I've lost someone, too. My Aunt Karina. Deaf as a post. Didn't really know her that well but she's still gone. Is your one in the mural?" he asked us.

"No," I answered.

"Oh, no. I haven't actually," Clara replied.

"I'm sure they'll get around to it at some point. I'm not really with that lot out there. I just have to do this community service thing. I just do graffiti. Not anything, you know, murdery or-"

"So, er, what's all this about? What happened to all these people?" Clara asked.

"You mean you don't know?" he asked.

We started to head back to the Tardis when Clara rang the Doctor. She put it on speaker so I could hear it as well.

"Hey, I think I've found something. People are missing all over the estate. Do you think there's a connection?"

"Could be," he replied.

"And where are you?" I asked.

"Exactly where I was."

"No, you're not. I'm here and I can't see you. Oh." I saw it the same time that she did. A tiny Tardis, barely a foot high. We both laugh.

"Yes. Oh"

"Oh, my god, that's so adorable. Are you in there?" Clara asked.

"Yes, I am. And, no, it's not adorable. It's very, very serious."

"So is this more shrink ray stuff? Are you tiny in there?" I asked.

"No. I'm exactly the same size. It's merely the exterior dimensions that have changed."

He opened the doors and all we see is his head through the doors. We laughed again.

"Stop laughing. This is serious."

"Yeah, well, I can't help it, can I, with you and your big old face. How are you going to get out?" Clara asked.

"Well, plainly I can't. Something nearby is leeching all the external dimensions."

"Aliens?" I asked.

"Possibly. Oh, who am I kidding? Probably. Sensors are down and I can't risk taking off with it in this state. Clara, I need you to pick up the Tardis. Carefully. It should be possible. I've adjusted the relative gravity."

"You mean you've made it lighter."

"Clara, it's always lighter. If the Tardis were to land with its true weight, it would fracture the surface of the Earth."

"Yeah, maybe a story for another time. What now?" Clara asked.

"I've managed to get a rough fix on the source of the dimensional leeching. It's roughly North West. That way,' he said, using his fingers through the door to give the direction we need to go.

"Please don't do that. That's just wrong."

"He was just telling us where we need to go. Get your mind out of the gutter, Clara,' I teased.

"Now, listen! You two are going to need these."

The Doctor handed out a wallet with nothing much in it except for a blank piece of paper.

"Oh, wow. This is an honour. Does this mean I'm you now?" Clara asked.

"Uh, how is the wallet going to help us?" I asked.

"No, it doesn't, so don't get any ideas. Emily, the wallet contains a blank piece of paper. With the piece of paper, you can use to it show others what you want it to. I called it psychic paper," he explained.

"Oh, that makes sense," I said.

He also handed out his sonic screwdriver. Clara went to put the Tardis in her bag when the Doctor spoke again.

"And listen, stick this in your ear." He passed out a wooden box which contained two ear pods. Both me and Clara stick them in our ears.

"Can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Clara.

"Yep, loud and clear," I replied.

I heard Clara gasp for some reason. I looked over to her but then she spoke.

"Ow! What just happened?"

"Nanotech. I just hacked your optic nerve."

"What does that mean," she asked.

"I see what you see," he replied.

"Doctor, I didn't feel any pain. Does that mean that you didn't hack me?" I asked.

"Yes because I only need to see only what one you sees. I chose Clara because she has a bit more of an idea of what to look for. Just remain with her so that I can keep an eye on you."

"Oh, ok."

Clara turned sharply around in a circle, pointing the sonic at a row of flats, then a wall with a mural of footprints, handprints and tyre marks. I just stayed out of her way so I didn't get hit.

"Anything?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm dizzy. But nothing useful."

As we were looking around the place, the boy from before who we saw at the underpass, came over.

"You two never did tell me your names," he stated.

In the ear piece, I heard the Doctor say, "No time to fraternize. Come on, get rid of him."

"My name is Emily," I introduced.

"I'm er… I'm the Doctor," Clara started.

"Don't you dare."

"Doctor Oswald. But you can call me Clara," she finished.

"I'm Rigsy. So er, what are you a Doctor of?" Rigsy asked.

"Of lies," I heard the Doctor complain.

"Well, I'm usually quite vague about that," said Clara, making fun of the Doctor. "I think I just picked the title because it makes me sound important."

"Why, Doctor Oswald, you are hilarious," the Doctor deadpanned. I laughed silently to myself. "Could we back to work, do you think?"

"What are you exactly? You both don't smell like police but that's some pretty cool gear you have there," he said, pointing at the ear pods. "Are you two spies, or something?"

"Oh, he's a bright one, hang on to him," said the Doctor.

"He's the last one to go missing," Rigsy said as he broke the police tape that was across the apartment door. "And when he disappeared all the doors and windows were locked from inside."

"Ooh, now you're talking. I love a good locked room mystery," said the Doctor, becoming interested.

I noticed that near the bookcase of CDs, there was an interesting mural that looked like a cracked, sandy surface.

"Yeah, doesn't everyone?" I whispered, trying to keep quiet but I failed.

"What?" Rigsy asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm talking to someone else. He's listening in. Doctor, Rigsy, Rigsy, the Doctor," I introduced.

"Hello, barely sentient local," said the Doctor.

"Another Doctor?" Rigsy questioned.

"How do you sleep at night?"

"Oi, don't be rude, Doctor. Or I will smack you on the head when I see you again," I threatened.

"Please, don't. Anyway, missing people, tiny Tardis, what's the link?"

Clara scanned the room with the sonic while I listened to Rigsy and the Doctor talk, or in the Doctor's case, complain.

"I think this is great that someone's finally looking into this. The police weren't doing anything. They never do on this estate. People were thinking that no one was listening. That no one cared. So, yeah. I think that it's great what you're doing," Rigsy thanked.

"Emily, Clara, look, I think that we can manage on our own from now on."

"Yeah, well, I think he could still be useful," said Clara.

"He's a pudding brain," the Doctor complained. "Worse than that, he's a fluorescent pudding brain."

"I will hit you, Doctor," I threatened.

"Ok, fine," Clara complained.

"And all those other people, I suppose you know where they lived," I asked.

"He could still be in the room," Rigsy said.

"Sorry, what?"

"Sorry, nothing. I was just thinking out loud. It's like one of those locked room things you get in books. It's always something weird, like, he's still in the room or something," Rigsy theorised. "Do you want to go and check out another flat?"

"Do you know, I think that you were wrong about this lad. I think that he could be very useful. Vital local knowledge," the Doctor admitted.

"Oh, really?" Clara questioned.

"Yes. So try not to scare him off, Clara."

"How would I scare him off?"

"You don't think that I would scare him off, Doctor?" I asked.

"No. for some reason, people seem to like you. For some people, more than just liking," he muttered though I didn't pay much attention to the last bit.

Clara scanned more of the room while Rigsy looked at the mural.

"Maybe he's lost in the desert, or something."

"Ok, right," said Clara.

"Are we missing something here? Missing man, locked room," I questioned.

"Shrink ray?" Clara offered.

"Sorry, did you just say shrink ray?" Rigsy asked.

"What if he is still in the room like you said, only tiny? You know, like underneath the sofa or something," Clara said.

"Clara, this is the scaring off that we were talking about," the Doctor warned.

And she scared him off, nearly. Because Rigsy was making his way to the door.

"Ok. So er, my lunch break's nearly up. This, this has been er, interesting," Rigsy awkwardly said.

"Clara, local knowledge is leaving. Do something!" the Doctor said quickly.

"Rigsy! One sec. Doctor, open the doors."

"Probably not what he meant, Clara," I pointed out.

"I didn't mean that!" the Doctor said, proving my point.

"Look, do you want him to stay or not?" she asked.

"You really know how to throw your companions in the deep end, don't you?" he asked.

"You kinda did with me, Doctor. Running for our lives, 'Oh, let's just go into this phone box to hide from the killer shop dummy.'" I compared.

"That was different. At least you had an idea that something was alien beforehand. Pudding brain here has no clue," he countered.

"True."

Clara put the Tardis on the shelf so that Rigsy is able to see the Doctor inside with bending over.

"Rigsy, come here. Meet the Doctor."

The Doctor was standing near the console so that he was in proportion with the Tardis.

"So, what do you think? Tiny man idea." Clara asked.

"Yes, it's a lovely thought. Which is why I set the sonic to scan for that as soon as we entered. Pleased to meet you."

"And you didn't think to tell us?"

"Well, of course he might've been squashed under a policemen's shoe by now," said the Doctor.

"It's bigger. On the inside," Rigsy said in disbelief.

"Do you know, I don't think that statement has ever been truer."

"What are you? Like, aliens, or something?" Rigsy asked.

"No. Well, the Doctor is. Me and Clara are human," I answered.

An alarm sounded from the Tardis.

"Doctor? Doctor, did you hear that?" Clara asked.

"He's in the Tardis. The alarm is coming from the Tardis. I think he heard it," I replied to Clara.

"Yes. Whatever it was, it just drained a massive amount of energy from inside the Tardis," replied the Doctor.

"What was it?" I asked.

"I don't know, but that's the least of my problems. Just get us out of there." He slams the Tardis doors shut.

"Ok. Go. Rigsy, Emily, this is where we run. Stick with me," Clara told us as we exited the room.

"I mean this is just embarrassing. I'm from a race the built the Tardis. Dimensions are kind of our thing. So why can't I understand this?" he asked himself. "Clara, I need more info. Where else have people disappeared?"

"M15?" asked the policewoman, looking at the psychic paper. I have got to get me one of those. I wonder if the Doctor will give me one of them, it might come in handy.

"Yes, this case has got our attention," Clara explained.

"Well, you've come to the right place, ma'am. First reported disappearance, a Mister Heath. It's not on the estate, but it's exactly the same MO as the rest," the policewoman explained.

"Clara, I think that your shrink ray theory was wrong," said the Doctor.

"My shrink ray theory? I thought you were already scanning for that?" Clara asked.

"It's like they vanished," continued the policewoman.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" I asked him.

"It just struck me. Locked room mysteries. Classic solution number one, they're still in the room. Classic solution number two, they're in the walls," he replied, sort of explaining what he meant.

"What do you mean, they're in the walls?" Clara asked. She pulled a lump hammer out of her bag, supplied by the Doctor.

"Have we done as much as we could? No. do we have any suspects? No. off the record, I think the top brass are hoping if they ignore this it'll just go away," the policewoman continued.

"Apparently they're in the walls," Clara told the police woman.

The policewoman's phone rings and she answers it, "PC Forrest. Yes, sir. M15, sir." She walks out of the room to take her call in private.

"So, you two and that bloke in the box. You do this sort of stuff a lot?" Rigsy asked. Clara started to smash holes in the wall.

"Oh, well, he's usually out of the box. But, yep," Clara replied.

Well, it was nice to know that I've been around for a while.

"So how'd you get this gig? You two study science, or aliens, or something?" Rigsy asked. Clara laughed.

"Well, I looked into some sci-fi stuff in my spare time, when I did have time," I answered.

"No. well, it's kind of a more of a right place, right time or wrong place, wrong time depending on how he's behaving," Clara answered.

"I can hear you, you know," the Doctor interrupted.

We heard a scream come from the other room and we all ran in to investigate.

"PC Forrest? Hello? Hello?" Clara called out.

"Doctor, she's gone," I told him.

"What am I missing? The Tardis should be able to detect anything in the known universe. The known universe. This universe. Clara, wait, go back," the Doctor ordered.

Clara was slowly looking back over where she just looked.

"Back, back, back. That mural," the Doctor pointed out. It was a lot of red lines, sort of in the shape of a human body. "That is a nervous system. Scaled up and flattened. I think we've found PC Forrest. What's left of her, at least."

"Her nervous system," I said as I looked at the 'mural'.

"The mural in the flat. That wasn't a desert at all. It's a microscopic blow up of human skin."

"What? Why?" Clara asked.

"Whatever they are, they are experimenting. They're testing. They are they are dissecting. Trying to understand us. Trying to understand three dimensions."

We tried going to the door but we heard a hissing sound and the door slammed shut.

"Ow. The handle," Rigsy complained.

"Doctor. The handle, they've flattened the handle," Clara reported.

"Fascinating. Emily, Clara, they're in the walls! Keep away from them. If they touch you, you're finished."

The sofa and the cushions lose their third dimension.

"What happens if they touch us?" Rigsy asked.

"I really don't want to find out," Clara replied.

"I think we are looking at it," I suggested.

"They can't jump, can they?" Rigsy asked. We all ran over to the hanging chair and climbed onto it.

"I don't think so," I replied.

Then Clara's phone rang.

"Hey, you…just a little. Sorry, Danny. I think lunch is er, a bust." By now, they were making the carpet shimmer and wobble as they came towards us.

"Emily! Clara, the window!"

The three of us started to swing the chair after working out what the Doctor meant. The walls started to shimmer now as they worked their way up.

"Look! Look! Their climbing up the walls," Rigsy pointed out.

"Er, that's just a guy on community support and I'm helping him find his aunty," said Clara on the phone.

"Nice. Not technically lying," the Doctor commented.

"No, no, no, I'm fine," Clara still trying to keep her voice normal as she spoke to Danny.

Clara managed to sonic the window, smashing it, as the chair came loose from the ceiling. We managed to land safely on the other side, surrounded by the broken glass. Clara was still on the phone with Danny.

"Oh, not much, just some nonsense. Long story…tell you later. Love you!"

The three of us started to walk back to the train tracks with Clara in the lead. She seemed to have some idea of what she was doing.

"This explains everything. They're from a universe with only two dimensions. And, yes, that is a thing. It's long theorised, of course, but no one could go there and prove its existence without a heck of a diet. And what long story are you going to tell Danny, huh? Or haven't you made it up yet?" the Doctor asked.

"Sorry, what? What was that?" Clara asked.

"Excellent lying, Doctor Oswald."

"Yeah? Well, thought it was pretty weak myself."

"I meant to me. You told me that Danny was ok with you being back on the Tardis."

"Well, he is."

"Yeah, because he doesn't know anything about it."

"Doctor."

"Congratulations. Lying is a vital survival skill," he congratulated.

"Well, there you go."

"And a terrible habit," he continued.

"Not to interrupt this nice conversation, but Doctor, I'm starting to have trouble hearing you. I can hear mostly static," I interrupted.

"What? Oh, right, blowing out that window's possibly affected the earpiece. Take it out and give it to Clara so she can sonic it. She will know what to do," he explained.

"Ok," I gave her my earpiece and she soniced it and her's. I'm guessing her isn't working properly either.

"Doing it," Clara told the Doctor as she soniced them.

Rigsy wondered off as I stayed with Clara. Not a moment later, I heard him yell at someone.

"Hey! They can't do that. Hey! What are you doing?"

Me and Clara went over to where the yelling was coming from. Rigsy was over near his work group who were ready to paint over the mural in the underpass.

"Our job. You're on report, by the way. Late back from lunch," one of them told him, I'm guessing the one that's in charge.

"Does it even still count as lying if you're doing it for someone's own good? Well, like, technically their own good," Clara asked me.

"Yes. Would you like to know what's going on if you were that person?" I asked her.

"Well, yes."

"There's your answer. Don't lie," I told her.

"It's a memorial!" Rigsy shouted at the man.

"Council didn't approve it, its graffiti. Stan," said the man in charge. Stan, one of the other workers, grabbed a paint brush but it was taken off him by Rigsy.

"What are you doing?" Rigsy asked.

I noticed that the Doctor's fingers stick out of Clara's bag and jolted her elbow. She handed me back my earpiece and I placed it back in my ear. I didn't hear what the Doctor told Clara.

"What do I do?" she asked the Doctor.

"Act normal, but get everyone out," he told us.

"Right, act normal. How hard could that be," I muttered to myself.

Clara casually walked over to the group and I followed.

"They're very realistic. Who painted them?" she asked them.

"I don't know. A local artist," Rigsy replied. "Probably a grieving relative."

"Did you ever meet them," I asked, realising where Clara was going with this. "Or did they just appear _after people disappeared_?"

"And who are you two when you're at home, loves?" asked the old man, the 'leader' of the group.

Clara brought out the psychic paper.

"Health and safety. This subway in unsafe. Everyone needs to leave right now," she said confidently as she showed him.

"This is blank. Try again, sweetheart."

"What?" I asked as I looked at the paper. It clearly said that we were health and safety.

"What? It takes a quite a lack of imagination to beat psychic paper," explained the Doctor.

"Stan. Do your job," said the leader.

"Emily, Clara, stop him."

Stan's brush touched the wall and he was sucked in with a cry.

"Stan!" Rigsy yelled after him.

The images on the wall turned around to face us.

"Well, this could be a problem," I stated.

"What is this? What are they?" one of the workers asked.

"They're wearing the dead like camouflage," noted the Doctor.

"Forget Stan. Your friend's gone," Clara told them.

"Emily, Clara, get them out of there!"

"We need to move. Now," I told them as the paintings started to slide off the wall. We started to run as the paintings move across the tarmac.

We ran into a nearby train shed and managed to close the corrugated iron door. Clara took the time to scan the room with the sonic.

"Did they follow us? Cos I didn't see them follow us. Are we safe?" asked one of the workers who I really need to get the names of.

"Are we really hiding from killer graffiti? This is insane," commented the other worker who wasn't the leader.

"I agree. We'll have to think of a better name for them than that," the Doctor mentioned.

"And Stan was one of them. Flattened, dead, but coming after us," pointed out the first worker who I'm gonna call worker one. And the other will be worker two and the last, lead worker.

"Emily, Clara, this is a vital stage. This little group is currently confused and disorientated. But pretty soon a leader is going to emerge. You need to make sure the leader is one of you."

"Clara, you should be leader. You seem better at this than me. Or at least, more experienced. I'm just useless at the moment," I mentioned to her.

"Don't worry, you will get a lot better, trust me. And you're not useless, just ask the Doctor. He's never thought of you as useless," she reassured me.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Anyway, I'm on it. George. George, isn't it? Can you watch that area? If you hear anything, anything moves, you shout, ok?" Clara directed worker one, who I now know is named George, off to an area.

"He will do no such thing until I get some answers. Who are you two? That's what I want to know. Impersonating a government official. Trespassing on council property," accused lead worker, who I'm now naming jackass leader. It now seems more appropriate.

"Seriously."

"Seriously."

"Fine, I'll tell you who we are. We are the one chance you've got of staying alive. That's who we are," Clara told jackass leader.

"Well done," the Doctor congratulated, impressed.

"Rigsy, how well do you know this area? Do you know where that do leads?" Clara asked him.

"It's the old Brunswick line. But it's not safe."

"Well, there's safe and there's safe," worker two commented.

"I'm sorry, I don't know your name. What is your name?" I asked worker two.

"You can just call be Al," Al told me.

"Ok."

"Yeah, I know it. I used to go down there all the time," Rigsy answered Clara.

"Yeah, I'll bet you did. Painting your filth," jackass leader sneered.

"Yeah, well, you might be glad he did. Those things come in here, that is our only way out," I pointed out to the jackass leader. I'm getting to the point where I just want to leave him behind.

"I just hope I can keep them all alive," Clara muttered to me and the Doctor.

"I don't think the jackass is going to live much longer if he keeps this up," I muttered to the two.

"Ah, welcome to my world. Patience, Emily. I'll give you some chocolate when this is over. So what's next, Doctor Clara?" he mocked Clara.

"You better give me chocolate," I mentioned grumpily.

"Lie to them," Clara told him.

"What?"

"Lie to them. Give them hope. Tell them they're all going to be fine. Isn't it what you would do?" she asked him.

"I hope you don't do that to me, Doctor," I told him.

"The only time I've done it to you, is when it involves your safety. And in a matter of speaking, Clara. It's true the people with hope tend to run faster, whereas people who think they're doomed-"

"Dawdle. End up dead," Clara finished.

"So that's what I sound like. Right, here's something that might help you. Do you remember the graffiti from the estate? Footprints, tyre treads?" he asked.

"Little bit," I said.

"Vaguely," Clara added.

"Well, I don't think it was graffiti. I think that that is how those creatures saw us. The impressions we make in two dimensional space. That was them reaching out, attempting to talk. At which point they moved into flattening and dissection. Trying to understand. Trying to emulate. But here's the big question. Do they know they're hurting us?"

"So what? You think this is all one big misunderstanding?" Clara asked.

"That's a very good question. Why don't we ask them?"

Rigsy went to get a ladder while I kept a look out for the killer graffiti. The Doctor was right, they do need a better name. When Rigsy came with the step ladder, Clara climbed up it to sonic the speakers.

"We need to find a way to communicate," the Doctor said.

"Why can't the Tardis just translate?" Clara asked.

"Because their idea of language is just as bizarre as their idea of space. Even the Tardis is confused," he explained.

"This is a bad idea. What makes this colleague of yours think those monsters even want to talk?" the jackass leader asked.

"I know a race made of sentient gas who throw fireballs as a friendly wave. I know another race with sixty four stomachs who talk to each other by disembowelling."

"He's got a hunch," Clara said instead.

"My point being that in a universe as immense and bizarre as this one, you cannot be too quick to judge. Perhaps these creatures don't even understand that we need three dimensions to live in. They may not even know that they're hurting us."

"Do you really believe that?" Clara asked.

"No. I really hope that. It would make a nice change, wouldn't it? Ok. Let's start with pi. Even in a flat world they would have circles. I don't mean edible pie. I mean circular pi. Which I realise would also mean edible pie but anyway. They're responding. The Tardis is translating now…it's a number. Fifty five."

"Fifty five? What does that mean?"

"Tenth Fibonacci number. Atomic number of caesium."

"I know what that means. We all have numbers on our jackets. Have them to sign out. That was the number on Stan's jacket, the man they flattened in the subway," Rigsy explained.

"They're gloating," accused the jackass leader.

"We don't know that," replied the Doctor.

"It could be an apology, for all we know," offered Clara.

"Really? That's nice of them," said Al.

"An apology? Are you serious," mocked the jackass leader.

More sounds came from the speaker.

"Shush, shush, shush. Listen. Wait," Clara quietened.

"Two two. Twenty two," the Doctor translated.

"Twenty two," Clara repeated.

"That's George," pointed out Rigsy.

"Looks like your number's up, George. Now they're threatening," sneered the jackass leader.

"Maybe. Or they're showing us they can read," Clara pointed out.

"Oh, grow up. They're picking targets."

"Of course you'd see it that way," Rigsy complained.

"What do you mean by that?"

"George?" Clara asked.

"Everyone's out to get you, aren't they?" Rigsy asked the jackass.

"In this case, they kind of are," he scoffed.

"Clara, be careful," the Doctor warned.

I noticed that Clara was looking at George, who was standing very still. Clara moved to one side while still looking at George and I copied her actions. George was only two dimensional. He then dissolves into the wall and floor.

"The tunnel!" Clara yelled.

We all run down the tunnel as Clara spoke to the Doctor.

"Doctor, they've got George."

"I know. I did see."

"What now," Clara asked.

"Give me a minute. I'm working on it."

We stopped at the third door in the tunnel. The handle on the door had been flattened handle. The railway tracks had been remove sometime in the past so I don't think this gets used anymore.

"Another flat handle. They were here. Not now. They've stopped chasing us, I think. It feels like they're cornering us," Clara spoke.

"You can't apply human logic. You're dealing with creatures from another dimension," the Doctor replied.

"That's three exits blocked by those creatures," Al pointed out.

"Rigsy, where's the next exit?" Clara asked.

"The only other one I can think of is where the old line joins the new, but it's a fair walk. Getting through that door would be quicker."

"But we can't, can we," mocked the jackass leader.

"I'm just saying."

"Emily, Clara, I might be able to help with that door. Give me five minutes."

We continued down the tunnel and came across a painting of something exploding out in a circle.

"It's one of mine. Do you like it?" Rigsy asked.

"Yeah, not bad. So this thing you're working on?" Clara asked the Doctor.

"I think I've figured out a way to restore three dimensions. At least on a small scale, say door handles," he replied.

"So, what's that, then? A de-flattener?" she asked.

"We're not calling it a de-flattener." He handed it to Clara out of the bag. I went over a looked at it. It looked like a very old calculator with a ball on top and an extra aerial. "This should be able to restore dimensions. You see what I've called it?"

"Two D is. Two Dee iz?" Clara tried.

"No. Twodis. It's called the Twodis. _Sigh_. Why'd I even bother? Well, give it a go, then." He corrected.

Clara aimed it at the flat wheel on the steel door. Green rays pulse out of the ball like smoke rings. It looked kind of cool until there was actual smoke and a small bang.

"Long way round it is," Clara sighed.

"Emily, Clara, I don't know how, but they're doing it again. They're leeching the Tardis!"

"How? Your doors are closed," I asked.

"They've changed frequency. This time it's different," he sort of explained.

"Listen! The Doctor thinks we might be in trouble. He thinks they might be close," Clara told the others.

"Where, exactly?" the jackass asked.

"I don't know. He's not sure. He's getting readings all around."

"Oh, that's just great. Sounds important but means absolutely nothing. Can you tell your friend-" he was cut off by a giant hand grabbing Al and taking him back from where it came from. Al screamed as he was being taken away.

"Of course. The next stage. 3D," the Doctor worked out.

While that was all good and stuff, the lumps that were appearing in the tunnel floor, which then tried to resolve themselves in the people that they took, wasn't good.

"Run!" Rigsy yelled.

"Doctor? The door. The handle's flattened," Clara pointed out.

The Doctor handed the Twodis out of her bag, which should hopefully work this time.

"I've boosted the output," he told us.

"And will it work this time?" I asked.

"Absolutely."

Clara tried it on the handle, there was a steady stream of green smoke rings and the handle became three dimensional again. Rigsy opened it and we all went through it and locked it behind us.

"Clara, stop. Use it again. It can reverse the process."

"There's a ladder at the end of this. If we get down into the tunnel, we can make it into daylight," Rigsy told Clara.

"Hang on! Hang on," Clara told Rigsy as she made the handle two dimensional again.

"If it's flat, we're safe now, aren't we?" the jackass asked.

"They can't get through, can they?" Rigsy asked.

"Wait." The handle became 3D again and we ran.

"They have a new ability. Of course they have. Now they're 3D, they can restore dimensions," the Doctor complained.

Clara lead the group as we ran for our lives as the creatures came through the door.

"Emily, Clara, do you want the good news or the bad news?" the Doctor asked.

"We're in the bad news. We're living in the bad news!" Clara pointed out.

"So yeah, good news would be preferable," I added.

"The good news is I've come up with a theoretical way to send them back to their own dimension."

"Do it! Now!" Clara yelled.

"And the bad news?" I asked.

"That's the bad news. The Tardis doesn't have enough dimensional energy to pull it off."

"Great. What do you want us to do about it?" Clara asked.

"Apparently these things can pump it out as fast as they can steal it."

"Maybe if I ask them really nicely, they'll fill you up again. Hey!" Clara yelled as the jackass pulled the Tardis out of Clara's bag.

"Give me that machine! Hand it over!" yelled the jackass, who is really close to getting punched by me.

Rigsy came over to try and get the Tardis, which resulted in a struggle and ended up with the Tardis going over the railing and down the ventilation shaft.

"Doctor?" Clara asked as we heard a thump and an alarm sound. "Hello? Doctor? Look, can we please deal with this later? Because we need to move. Doctor? Doctor, I dropped you down a hole. Where are you?"

"I don't know. My shields have gone. Structural integrity is failing. Another blow like that and I've had it…Er, I'm on the train lines. And there is a train coming. Of course there is. Short-term re-materialisation? Not enough power. Teleport? Not enough power. Re-route the heart of the Tardis through – not enough power! Not enough power!"

"Can't you just move the Tardis?" Clara asked.

"Clara, there is no power. The Tardis couldn't even boil an egg at the moment. Listen, do what you can to get those people out of there. Both you and Emily are stronger than you know."

"I wonder what they're like with ladders?" Rigsy asked but I just ignored him.

"No, I mean you move the Tardis. Like Addams Family," she explained some more.

"Ha! Di di di," he celebrated with the Addams family theme tune. Or that was what I heard before static.

"Doctor? Doctor?" Clara asked.

Both Rigsy and the jackass already made it down to the bottom of the ladder before I even noticed that they were gone. I only noticed when I heard their voices coming from below me. I climbed down first then Clara followed after.

"We should go," Clara commanded.

"Oh no," the jackass complained as jerky shadows played against the light at the end of the tunnel. "And there's another train coming."

Clara acted quickly and soniced the signal from green to red, so the driver puts on the brakes. The drive climbed out and came towards us.

"What's going on? Why the red light?" he asked.

"M15. We've got a, er," Clara started.

"Blockage. In the tunnel," the jackass finished.

"Can we ram the blockage? The train's empty, isn't it?" Clara asked.

"Yeah, it's out of service, but you need someone to hold the dead man's handle. Won't run without it. It this official? Because I've always wanted to ram something," the driver asked.

"Can we rig it to drive without that? Send it with no driver?" I asked.

The trained started to move forward. I only just noticed that we are missing someone from our little group. Clara started to run towards it and I followed a second later to board it.

"Rigsy!" Clara yelled.

We made it up to the drivers cab and found Rigsy there.

"Er, what are you doing?" Clara asked.

"I'm going to ram them, buy you some time," he responded.

"You'll die," I pointed out.

"Yeah, course I'll die. Now go!" he yelled to us.

"Well, why'd you want to do that?" Clara asked.

"Just go, ok? Let me do this."

"Ok, fine, yeah. And I'll always remember you."

"Fine. Great."

"Cos I was just going to do this." Clara placed her hair band and looped it around the handle and something lower down. "No driver required. And I really like that hair band, but I suppose I'll just take it, will I? And every time I look at it, I'll remember the hero who died to save it. Come on. You're not getting off that lightly. There's work that needs doing."

We ran back down the train, jumping off before it became a mural on the side of the tunnel.

"I quite liked that hair band," Clara complained as figures started to rise out of the floor again. We started to run back when Clara spotted a small box on the ground with weird circles on the sides. She picked it up.

"What is it?" Rigsy asked.

"I think it's the Tardis," Clara responded.

The room we ended up in was an office that hasn't been used for a long time, given that it has a typewriter, old filing cabinet and a long table.

"They wear your skin?" the train driver asked. Oh, yeah, he was also being caught up with what was going on.

"I never thought I'd say this-" the jackass started.

"This is insane," the driver interrupted.

"But I think I preferred them when they were flat," the jackass finished.

"What do you mean flat?" the driver asked but he was ignored.

"Doctor? Doctor? What would you do now? No. What will I do now? Ok, ok, ok. Ok, the last thing the Doctor said was that the Tardis needed energy. He said if it gets energy, he can beat them."

"Well, those creatures use energy. Maybe we can use that?" I offered.

"Good idea. I have a plan." And with that, she unrolled an old advertising poster on the table with the blank side up. She used the Tardis as a paperweight and shook a paint spray can.

"Leave her. She's lost it," the jackass commented.

"Are you ok," Rigsy asked.

"Yeah, are you?" she asked in return.

"I think I will be. What's this?" he asked.

"Come on, Graffiti Boy, I've got a commission for you." She threw him the spray can.

"I'm flattered but I don't think this is exactly the best time," he tried to decline.

"Well, fine, if you don't think you're up to it," she taunted.

"What do you need, exactly?"

The Tardis was placed on a metal ledge and we waited as the other side of the wall was where the painting was.

"You're going to get us killed. The both of you. This plan is insane," the jackass mocked.

"You want to walk? Walk. You want to stay? Then shush!" Clara said, putting him in his place.

"They're coming," the driver pointed out.

****** In the Tardis

"Life support failing. I don't know if you'll ever hear this, Emily, Clara, I don't even know if you two are even alive. And I hope to every god there is that you are still alive, Emily, otherwise I have failed my duty as your husband. But you were good! And Clara, you made a mighty fine Doctor."

"It's not working. You've killed us all," the jackass sneered again.

"This is going to save us? Pumping energy into the wall?" the driver asked.

"No. Not into the wall. Through the wall. Rule number one of being the Doctor. Use your enemy's power against them," Clara clarified.

There was red energy streaming into the Tardis, the energy the creatures were using on the other side of the wall. The cube flies off the ledge, changing shape and flies through the air with its familiar whooshing sound, growing bigger and bigger until it lands with a thump. It let out a force field which pushed the creatures away down the tunnel.

"It worked. They charged the Tardis," I said happily.

"I tried to talk. I want you to remember that. I tried to reach out, I tried to understand you, but I think that you understand us perfectly," the Doctor lectured, his voice coming out of the tannoy system. "And I think you just don't care. And I don't know whether you're here to invade, infiltrate or just replace us. I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters. That is the role you seem determined to play. So it seems I must play mine." He stepped out of the Tardis as we came down the ladder. "The man who stops the monsters. I'm sending you back to your own dimension. Who knows? Some of you may even survive the trip. And, if you do, remember this. You are not welcome here. The plane is protected. I am the Doctor." He turned to Clara and she threw him his sonic screwdriver. "And I name you The Boneless." He zapped the force field and it pulsed out energy, making The Boneless disintegrate with a squeal.

The Tardis materialised and we, the Doctor, Clara, me, the train driver and the jackass, get out, followed by Rigsy, who closed the door. The train driver kissed the ground and Clara chuckled. Rigsy borrowed Clara's phone to make a phone call.

"Hi, mum. It's me."

"You alright?" Clara asked the driver.

"I'm alive, and I've been inside that. I think I'm up on the deal. Come here." He gave Clara a hug. Rigsy walked away while still on the phone and the jackass was retying his shoe laces. "Thank you. You look chipped," the last bit directed at the jackass.

"Do people still say chipper?" Clara asked the Doctor.

"Apparently. Are you ok?"

"I'm alive."

"And a lot of people died," the Doctor stated.

"It's like a forest fire, though, isn't it? The objective it to save the great trees, not the brushwood. Am I right?" the jackass compared.

"It wasn't a fire, those weren't trees, those were people," the Doctor argued.

"They were community payback scumbags. I won't lose any sleep."

"I've been waiting for a good opportunity to do this," I mentioned to the jackass.

"Wha-" but he was cut off by a punch to the nose. He walked off to find something to help his now bloody and hopefully broken nose.

"That felt good." I got a smile out of the Doctor.

"Yes, a lot of people died and maybe the wrong people survived," he said in the direction that the jackass walked off into.

"Yeah, but we saved the world, right?" Clara asked.

"We did. The both of you did," he complimented. I blushed, embarrassed.

"Ok, so, on balance."

"Balance?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah, that's how you think, isn't it?"

"Largely so other people don't have to."

"Yeah, well, I was you today. I was the Doctor. And, apparently, I was quite good at it."

"You heard that, did you?" he asked.

"Yeah, but the power was going off so I suppose you were delirious. You didn't know what you were saying."

"Yes."

Rigsy came over, having finished his phone call with his mum.

"Ah! The return of the fluorescent pudding brain," the Doctor insulted, lightly.

"You do realise he can hear you now?" Clara mentioned.

"I know. Your last painting was so good it saved the world. I can't wait to see what you do next."

"It's not going to be easy. I have a hair band to live up to. Thank," Rigsy chuckled, holding his hand out to Clara, who pulled him into a hug. He gave me a hug after Clara finished hers. He left after finishing the hug.

"Admit it. I did well," Clara brought up again, not letting go. Her phone rings but she pushed a button and it stopped.

"Is it PE?" he asked.

"Just say it. Why can't you just say it? Why can't you just say I did good?" she continued.

"Talk to soldier boy."

"It's not him. Come on, why can't you say it? I was the Doctor and I was good."

"You were an exceptional Doctor, Clara."

"Thank you."

"Goodness had nothing to do with it," he commented.

Clara had disappeared somewhere else in the Tardis, leaving me and the Doctor in the console room. He came over towards me.

"I'm guessing you heard what I said in the Tardis?" he asked.

"What? The part when you said that you are my husband?" I asked.

"Yeah, that part. Just forget about it. Yes it will happen one day in your future, but just don't worry about it. That's not important right now. What is though, is what you think about this me. Now that you have had time to form an opinion."

"Fine, I guess I can just forget about it. But I want an explanation at some point. And what I think about this you, is that you're mature, seem to have to make tough decisions, seem to act uncaring to those around you but you care a fair bit."

"So, your conclusion?"

"I wouldn't mind continuing to travel with you," I concluded. I would've said more but a headache started to form.

"I guess you're leaving now," he nodded towards my hands, which had that orange, harmless flame.

"Yeah. See you soon?" I asked.

"Always."

The flame consumed me until I couldn't see anything else. I closed my eyes until the brightness went away. Before I even opened them, I could feel the rocks beneath me and a light wind. When I opened them, all I could see is rocks and dust. Makes sense, since I was lying face down in it. I managed to see a shadow next to me and the figure crouched down to help me sit up. He placed his hat on me to help keep the sun out of my eyes.

"Well, hello Emily," he said in a deep voice.


	3. Genesis of the Daleks

**Well, here is chapter 3. I managed to get to done earlier than I thought. I'm planning on doing a chapter a month. I'm planning on doing the episodes in random order and I have already done a list of the order. This story was inspired by the following stories:**

 **Alexander – seer and changer of time : by bored411**

 **Once upon another time : by Artemis Sherwood**

 **You should check out their stories as they do an awesome job with them.**

 **I don't own Doctor who or any of its characters. I only own Emily.**

"Well, hello Emily," he said in a deep voice. I could make out some parts of him like his curly hair and long scarf due to the dust that had picked up. I had been lying down on rocks and he gave me a hand up.

"Uh, not to sound rude, but who are you?" I asked him.

"I'm the Doctor. Have you met this me yet?" the Doctor asked.

"No, sorry," I replied, sheepishly.

"Well, who were you just with?"

"Twelfth, before that, Ninth."

"Well, I'm Fourth. Come on, let's find out why we're here," he grinned at me. I smiled back and followed after him.

We didn't get too far, with me huddled next to him and him pulling his coat tighter to keep warm, when we came across someone.

"Ah. Welcome, Doctor," the figure said.

"What's going on? Don't you realise how dangerous it is to intercept a transmit beam?" the Doctor asked the figure.

"Oh come, Doctor, not with our techniques. We Time Lords transcended such simple mechanical devices when the universe was less than half its present size," said the figure, who I'm guessing is a Time Lord.

"Look, whatever I've done for you in the past, I've more than made up for. I will not tolerate this continual interference in my life."

"Continual? We pride ourselves we seldom interfere in the affairs of others."

"Except mine."

"You, Doctor, are a special case. You enjoy the freedom we allow you. In return, occasionally, not continually, we ask you to do something for us."

"I won't do it. Whatever it is, I refuse," the Doctor refused.

"Daleks."

"Daleks? Tell me more," the Doctor asked, becoming interested.

"We foresee a time when they will have destroyed all other life forms and become the dominant creatures in the universe."

"That's possible. Tell on."

"We'd like you to return to a point in time before the Daleks evolved."

"Do you mean avert their creation?"

"Or affect their genetic development so that they evolve into less aggressive creatures."

"Hmm. That's feasible."

"Alternatively, if you learn enough about their very beginnings, you might discover some inherent weakness."

"Alright, just one more time," the Doctor agreed.

"You'll do it?" the Time Lord asked.

"Yes. If you'll let me have the space time coordinates, I'll set the Tardis for Skaro."

"There is no need for that, Doctor."

"Huh?"

"You're here. This is Skaro."

"What?"

"We thought it would save time if we assumed your agreement," the Time Lord replied, arrogantly. He held up a thick gold bangle with a three ended swirl on it.

"What's this?" the Doctor asked.

"A Time Ring. It will return you to the Tardis when you're finished here. There's just one thing."

"What's that?"

"Be careful not to lose it. That Time Ring is your lifeline. Good luck, Doctor."

"Just a moment-" but the Time Lord had already vanished. "Don't just disappear! What about Sarah and Harry?"

"I'm guessing you know that, uh, Time Lord. Is that what you are as well? And who is Sarah and Harry?" I asked the Doctor.

"Yes. He's a Time Lord who is continuously interfering in my life. Yes, I'm also one as well. And Sarah and Harry are my companions," the Doctor answered.

The Doctor put the Time Ring on his left wrist and we walked off. I quickly spotted two people appear over a small ridge, a man and a woman.

"Doctor? Doctor!" the woman yelled out.

"Ah, there you are, Sarah," the Doctor called to her.

"I say, Doctor, that was a pretty rough landing. What happened?" the man asked, who I'm gonna guess is Harry.

"Yes, where are we? This isn't the beacon," added Sarah.

"No, there's been a slight change of plan," the Doctor informed. Something exploded in the distance. The Doctor instinctively ducked. "This is Skaro."

Harry looked to the sky. "What's that? Its gunfire."

"Heavy artillery," the Doctor corrected.

"Doctor, it's getting closer," Sarah pointed out.

"It's a creeping barrage. Get down!"

We all quickly ran behind the slope as the explosions are fairly close and loud. I used the Doctor's hat to help block out the noise as the others used their hands. It sort of helped. I think I heard Sarah scream or at least make some sort of noise.

"Something's annoyed them," the Doctor commented. There was a few more explosions before it stopped.

"Doctor. Doctor, look," Sarah pointed towards a man.

"Alright," the Doctor agreed.

I followed the Doctor as he went over to have a look, as did Sarah and Harry. When we got closer, I noticed that the man was wearing a gas mask. The Doctor picked up the rifle and Harry went over and quickly examined the man.

"Nothing can be done for this chap," he reported.

The Doctor looked at the weapons the man was carrying.

"That's strange. There's centuries between these two weapons," he pointed out as he looked over the ray gun that was near the man.

"What's that on his jacket?" Sarah asked, pointing at something on the man's jacket.

Harry answered her question, "Radiation detector and a gas mask. The two things don't go together, do they?"

"Part of his uniform is made from animal skins and yet the combat jacket is a modern synthetic fibre," Sarah noticed.

"It's like finding the remains of a Stone Age man with a transistor radio," the Doctor compared.

"Playing rock music," Harry added.

"A thousand year war? Civilization on the point of collapse," the Doctor theorised.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just theorising, that's all," he put down the weapons. "Come along."

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"Er…forward," the Doctor replied.

As we walk, we passed several dead bodies on the ground. We were in some sort of battle field, covered by rocks and dead wood. There was some smoke rising.

We continued to walk/climb over rocks when the Doctor suddenly stopped.

"Halt, don't move," he told us.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I see a land mine. We're in the middle of a minefield. Follow me and tread in my footsteps."

"Good King Wenceslas," Sarah muttered.

We started to move carefully, the Doctor in the lead, with me behind, then Harry and last, Sarah. The Doctor stopped and looked up to our left.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I thought I saw something move." We continued to walk carefully on the rocks. "I have a feeling we're being watched."

"I get that feeling, too," Sarah replied.

"I can't see anything," Harry looked.

"Neither can I," I added.

"Let's hope it's the imagination." The Doctor suddenly stopped walked and stood very stiff and still.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Harry, I'm standing on a landmine," he said slowly.

I looked down and saw that his left foot was on the landmine.

"I felt it shift. If I move my foot, it might detonate it," he continued.

"Don't move your foot," Harry commanded.

"I won't," he replied.

Harry carefully made his way past me and in front of the Doctor. He crouched down and examined the landmine.

"It's rocking," Harry told us.

"Wedge something under it, make it firm," Sarah told Harry.

"Yes, I'm trying to, Sarah,' he told her. He tried to stabilise it by putting small rocks under it. "Back up Sarah, Emily."

"You back up, too, Harry. No point in risking both our lives," the Doctor told Harry.

"No, Doctor, you'll have a better chance if I hold it firm," he responded.

"Please, Harry, don't be difficult."

"Don't you argue, Doctor." He finished stabilising the landmine. "Now…just lift your foot very, very gently."

The Doctor lifted his foot. Nothing happed. Harry stood up, looking shaken.

"Thank you, Harry," the Doctor smiled.

"My pleasure," Harry smiled with relief.

"Let's go."

In the distance, I could see a giant silver dome, through the smoke, in the distance.

"Hey, look. What do you think?" the Doctor asked.

"It's like a big bubble," Sarah answered.

"Protective dome," the Doctor corrected.

"What? Large enough to cover an entire city?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"Why are they fighting with old-fashioned things like barbed wire and landmines if they can build something like that?" Harry asked.

We approached what looked like trenches made of sandbags with barbed wire on top. There are dead men put in the trenches, made to look like the trench was manned.

"Even the dead have a part to play. Propped up to make the trenches appear fully manned," the Doctor pointed out.

"Different sort of uniform from that other chap's," Harry told us.

"Yes. We may have crossed the lines."

"Same mixture of ancient and modern, though," I noticed.

"Yes. That's why I think this war has being going on for a very long time. They probably started out with the most modern equipment but no longer have the resources. Have to make do," the Doctor explained.

"War of attrition, eh? Only backwards. At this rate, they're going to finish up with bows and arrows," Harry commented.

"Well, it would explain the mixture of equipment."

Sarah went off to one end of the tunnel where she found a door. "Psst."

"Be careful, Sarah," Harry whispered to her.

"It's alright. It's locked," she whispered back.

"It's pretty solid, isn't it? Some kind of service tunnel, I suppose. It might even lead into the dome," Harry thought out loud.

"Let's see where the trench leads," the Doctor suggested.

We moved away from the door. There was a projectile whistling and greenish smoke started to rise near us.

"It's a gas shell," the Doctor told us.

"Gas!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Poison gas," the Doctor identified.

Harry pointed to the dead men. "Respirators, quick."

We managed to put a mask on, the Doctor having to help me with mine. Soldiers in camouflage uniform and gas masks of their own appeared in the trench and knocked me out.

I woke up to someone pulling off my gas mask. Harry and the Doctor on the floor next to me, their masks having just been pulled off as well. There was also guns being pointed at us.

"They don't look like Thals. I wonder… there have been rumors recently that the Thals were developing robots. Anyway, stick them on the transporter. I shall alert command headquarters with General Ravon," commanded the guy in charge.

Harry, the Doctor and I sat down on the transporter vehicle with the guy in charge at the front.

"Count the ammunition and clean your weapons," he told the others.

We entered the headquarters, the three of us still shaky because of the gas. There was a man in a black uniform already in the room.

"Well?" the man asked, who I'm guessing is General Ravon.

"Three prisoners, sir, captured section 101," reported the guy who was on the transporter with us.

"For interrogation. Good. I enjoy interrogation," said Ravon.

"Yes, you look the type," the Doctor replied.

One of the soldiers hit the Doctor from behind and he fell to his knees.

"You insolent Muto," remarked Ravon, disgusted.

"Sir," the transporter guy interrupted.

"What?" Ravon asked.

"My section totally destroyed the Thal attackers except for these three. But our supply of ammunition is running low."

"Then conserve it! Ammunition is valuable and cannot be wasted."

"Yes, sir."

"For instance, when I've finished with these three animals, they'll be hanged. Not taken out and shot as in the past. And that will be all. Return to your unit." They saluted and clacked their heels. The transporter guy left.

"So…the Thals have come down to recruiting Mutos, have they?" he mocked. He waved his gun at the Doctor. Harry and I were sitting on a bench, him with head low. "Turn out your pockets."

"Certainly." He started to pull stuff out of his pockets. He puts them on the 3D model map in the centre of the room. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, a large magnifying glass, yellow yoyo… "This might take some time." He continued to place a pair of handcuffs and a sort of orange crystal.

"Take a good look. In a few weeks we're gonna change the shape of that map forever. We'll wipe the Thals from the face of Skaro," Ravon told the Doctor.

"Yes, I've heard that before," the Doctor muttered.

"What?"

"I was just wondering how you propose to wipe the Thals from the face of Skaro with boy soldiers, no ammunition and very young generals."

"You've had one warning about your insults."

"I do beg your pardon."

"When victory is ours, we'll wipe every trace of the Thals and their city from the face of this land. We will avenge the deaths of all Kaleds who've fallen in the cause of right and justice and build a peace which will be a monument to their sacrifice. Our battle cry will be 'Total extermination of the Thals!'"

"That's very impressive. You mean you're going to sweep these wastelands absolutely…" he was pointing at the map with a stick. He then used it to disarm Ravon, whose gun landed in Harry's hands. Harry then quickly got up and disarmed the other soldier in the room.

"Harry," the Doctor retrieved the handcuffs and gave them to Harry. I got up and walked over to the Doctor who gave me a smile. "Did I hurt your fingers," the Doctor mocked Ravon.

"You'll never get out here alive."

"Yes, so you said. So you're the Kaleds, eh?" the Doctor asked. He then used the sonic to destroy the communication device.

"Even you Mutos know the difference between Thals and Kaleds," Ravon sneered.

"K-A-L-E-D-S. Why, that's an anagram of… how interesting. Are you fit, Harry?" the Doctor asked him.

"Never felt fitter," Harry smiled, holding his gun at Ravon.

"How are you feeling, Emily?" the Doctor asked me.

"Tired but alright," I replied.

"When was the last time you got some sleep?" Harry asked.

"Um, about two days ago," I answered.

"When this is over, you should get some sleep."

"Ok."

"Good. Now, Alexander the Great, you're going to lead us out of here," the Doctor ordered Ravon.

"Never."

"You won't get any medals for being stupid, General. In fact, you won't be getting any more medals for anything."

"Where do you want me to take you," Ravon said, reluctantly.

"Back to the wastelands," the Doctor answered.

"Yes, that's home to you Mutos, isn't it? But you won't get that far, I promise you," Ravon said with distain, a contemptuous smirk on his face.

"Come on, we're wasting time," Harry complained.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"This isn't leading to the surface," Harry added.

"There's a platform lift at the end. You Mutos must have seen it," Ravon sneered.

"You're still making the same mistake. We're not Mutos, whatever they may be," Harry tried to correct.

"Only Mutos live in the wastelands."

"Come on," the Doctor hurried. We continued to the lift, Harry still holding Ravon at gunpoint.

"Sarah's alright?" Harry asked.

"Yes," the Doctor replied.

"If you have a friend up there, they won't last much longer," Ravon said.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Nights coming on. The Mutos start moving at night," he sneered.

Two soldiers following a man with round glasses started to approach in the corridor.

Harry held Ravon by the hand and pointed the gun at his back, hidden. "Just remember, we're your friends," he whispered.

"General Ravon," the guy in the glasses started.

"Nyder," he replied.

"I wish to see you," Nyder stated.

"If you'll wait in my office, Nyder, I'll be a few minutes."

"Perhaps you should introduce us, General," the Doctor suggested.

"Security Commander Nyder," he reluctantly introduced.

"You're civilians, I see," Nyder pointed out.

"Yes, but we're not staying long. Don't let us detain you," the Doctor replied, causally.

"You won't."

Nyder and the two soldiers continued to walk down the corridor only to suddenly stop and turn back around with their riffles raised.

"Down, Ravon!" Nyder shouted.

The soldiers started to shoot in our direction and we ran. We ran down a corridor when I heard Nyder's voice and the alarm sound, "Alert all guards. Three Thal intruders in the command complex."

"This way, Emily, Harry. Come on," the Doctor pointed to a corridor. The corridor that the Doctor pointed down contained a lift. As we got closer, the lift doors closed.

"We're trapped," Harry pointed out.

"Yes," the Doctor answered.

The lift doors open behind us.

"Ladies first," the Doctor cheekily suggested, gesturing towards the lift with his hand.

I got inside with Harry and the Doctor quickly behind, the doors closing just before the soldiers started to shoot at us.

The lift brought us outside and we started running off in one direction.

"Now what?" Harry asked.

"Keep running," the Doctor replied.

"What?" Harry asked again, unable to hear the first time.

"Keep running," he repeated louder.

The Kaled soldiers started shooting at us as we kept on running. We were running towards the minefield. The Doctor suddenly pulled me to the ground with him as he called towards Harry, "Down, Harry!"

A landmine when off and we managed to escape the explosion. The Doctor helped me up and looked me over to make sure I was alright. I smiled and blushed at the attention I was getting. He smiled and placed the hat back on my head as it came off when he pulled me down. He went over and helped Harry up.

"Are you alright?" he asked Harry.

"That was a lucky escape," Harry replied.

"I wouldn't say that, Harry."

I only just noticed that there was several soldiers surrounding us with their guns pointed at us.

We were pushed back into the command complex by armed soldiers. Nyder was using the Doctor's magnifying glass to examine one of the small devices that came from his pockets.

"This is yours?" Nyder asked.

"Yes," the Doctor replied.

"What is its function?"

"Well, it's an etheric bean locator. It's also useful for detecting ion-charged emissions," the Doctor explained.

"Oh, really," Nyder replied, uninterested. Ravon wasn't looking very pleased at all.

"It is not of Thal manufacture," Nyder pointed out.

"Well, naturally not. My friends and I are not from your planet," the Doctor explained.

"Aliens?" Nyder asked.

"Humans. Well, I am anyway," Harry told him.

"So am I," I added.

"I've heard Davros say there is no intelligent life on other planets. So either he is wrong or you are lying," Nyder started.

"We are not lying," the Doctor tried to explain.

"And Davros is never wrong about anything," Nyder finished.

"Well, he must be exceptional. Even I am occasionally wrong about some things. Who is this Davros?" the Doctor asked.

"Our greatest scientist. He's in charge of all research at the bunker," Nyder explained.

"They could be Mutos, Nyder. Intelligent Mutos who've developed a technology," Ravon theorised.

"Tell me…what exactly are Mutos?" The Doctor asked.

"Mutos are the scarred relics of ourselves. Monsters created by the chemical weapons used in the first century of this war. They were banished into the wastelands where they live and scavenge like animals."

"In other words, genetically wounded."

"We must keep the Kaled race pure. Imperfects are rejected. Some of them survive out there."

"That's a harsh policy."

"It's horrible," Harry added.

"Your views are not important. General Ravon, I'll take these three back to the bunker for interrogation by the special unit," Nyder told Ravon.

"They are the army's prisoners," he argued.

"Then you will release them to me. The special unit will get more out of them than your crude methods ever would."

"Very well, if you insist," he gave in.

"I do insist, General." Nyder picked up a list and handed it to Ravon. "And I have a list of requirements here. All these items are to be sent to the bunker immediately."

"I can't spare this equipment. These spare parts alone would take more than half my supply," Ravon argued.

"You'll notice the requisition is countersigned by Davros himself. If you would like to take the matter up with him…"

"I'm expected to fight a war without equipment. Very well, I'll have these things out to the bunker by dawn."

"By midnight, General. The order specifies midnight," Nyder pointed it out to him.

"By midnight," he reluctantly agreed.

"Good." They saluted and Nyder turned to the soldiers. "Bring the prisoners." We were lead out of the room.

We approached a door when I heard a voice through the speaker.

"You will announce your name, rank and serial number. Speak now."

"Tane, this is Security Commander Nyder with prisoners and escort," Nyder replied.

The doors open and we entered the room.

"I want these three screened and passed to Ronson for full interrogation," Nyder told Tane.

"Yes, sir," Tane replied.

"Prisoner's belongings," he handed over a plastic box which contained the Doctor's stuff. He saluted and left.

"Good. Well, now he's gone, any chance of a cup of tea?" the Doctor asked.

"What!"

"Or coffee. My friends and I have had a very trying experience. Haven't we had a trying experience, Emily, Harry?"

"Very trying, Doctor," Harry replied.

"And tiring," I added, yawning.

"Step into the security scan," Tane directed.

"What, no tea?" the Doctor asked.

"Let me point out to you that you have no rights whatsoever. I have full authority to torture and kill any prisoner who does not comply absolutely with my orders. That is your first and last warning," he warned.

"No tea, Harry. Or coffee, Emily," the Doctor told us.

Harry was first made to stand in the body scanner with two large boxes at chest height. It started to hum and Harry grabbed his head, like it was hurting him.

"You're cleared. Move forward. You, next," Tane pointed to me.

I got in the machine and it started to hum, like with Harry. I now know why Harry grabbed his head. Whatever part of the machine that is humming, hurts my head. Before I know it, it was over.

"You're cleared as well. Move forward. You, next," I moved over and stood next to Harry. The Doctor taking my place in the scanner. It started to hum and it beeps.

"Scan detects power source located below prisoner's left elbow. Remove object from prisoner's left wrist." The guards pulled off the Time Ring.

"You can't have that." He was elbowed in the stomach by the guard. "That bracelet could have no possible use as a weapon," the Doctor argued.

"It remains with the other confiscated items," Tane placed it in the box.

"Let's not make a fuss, Doctor," Harry said quietly.

"The Time Ring is our only hope of getting back to the Tardis," the Doctor replied. "Recovering it has got to be our number one priority. Do you understand, Harry? It's vital."

"Yes, I know it's vital, but we don't want them to know that, do we?" Harry asked, rhetorically.

"The prisoners are to be given into the custody of Senior Researcher Ronson. Here, take this with you," Tane gave the guard the box. He opened the door and the guards behind us, hustled us after the guard.

We were directed over to a man in a white uniform with silver hair, who was examining the Doctor's items.

"Sit down," he ordered, who I'm guessing is Ronson.

"Thank you," the Doctor sat down on one chair, pulling me down on his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist, grinning at my blush. Harry sat down on the other. "You're not with the military, I assume?"

"I'm with the Science Division," Ronson replied as he looked at the Doctor's interaction with me.

"Oh, good, good. Then perhaps we can talk without the interruption from rifle butts."

"That depends. If you don't answer my questions, I shall hand you back to the military. They take pride in loosening tongues. Now, where did you get these things?" he asked, pointing to the objects in the box.

"Oh, here and there."

"If I didn't know any better, I should have to assume that these were made by some intelligence on another planet."

"If you didn't know any better."

"It is an established scientific fact that in the seven galaxies only Skaro is capable of supporting intelligent life," Ronson argued.

"It is also an established scientific fact that there are more than seven galaxies," the Doctor countered.

"Indeed," he agreed.

"Yes."

"Well, when you passed through our security scan our instruments rana complete check on your blood and chemical make-up, encephalographic patterns and so on. Physiological compositions. And so, if you are from another planet…" he looked at the readout and his face fell. The Doctor smiled.

"You were saying?" the Doctor grinned.

"There's nothing. Nothing conforms to any know life on this planet apart from external appearances."

"You can't always judge from external appearances."

"Who are you? Where are you from," Ronson asked.

"It's a long story," the Doctor replied.

"Then tell me," he demanded.

"Do you have any inkling of the theory of space dimension correlated to relative time?" the Doctor asked.

An alarm sounds and the lights flash. Everyone stands to attention.

"Davros wishes all members of the Elite scientific corps to assemble in the main laboratory immediately," said someone.

"Our session will have to wait. Davros is coming," Ronson informed.

"Your chief scientist?" the Doctor asked.

"He's our supreme commander. When he calls a full meeting like this, he obviously has something of great importance to tell us."

"Well, I shall be delighted to meet him," the Doctor smiled.

"Stand up and be quiet," he ordered. Davros entered with Nyder and his guards.

"If I may have your attention. For some time I have been experimenting with the Mark Three project. Details of modifications will be distributed later. However, I am anxious that you should see immediately the results that I have achieved, and to that end I have arranged this demonstration."

The door next to the filing cabinets open and a giant pepper pot like machine glides into the room. It has what looks like a plunger attached to it.

"A Dalek," the Doctor stated.

"A what?" I asked.

"A Dalek. Very primitive but undeniably a Dalek."

"You're mistaken. It's a Mark Three travel machine," Ronson corrected.

'"If you say so."

"Halt. Turn left. Moved forward," Davros commanded the Dalek. It did as it was commanded.

"That's magnificent. He's perfected voice control," Ronson said in amazement.

"Turn right. Move forward and circle left. You will agree, I think, that voice control represents an enormous step forward, however the best has yet to come. Nyder." Nyder opened a box and removed some sort whisk like object. He handed it to an aide who attached it to the Dalek.

"Our machine is now equipped with a weapon for self-defence. Now, I am going to turn the machine over to total self-control. It will be entirely independent of all outside influences. A living, thinking, self-supporting creature."

Davros flicked a switch and the gun arm rises. The Dalek turned to survey the room before stopping at the Doctor and me. The Doctor moved so that I was behind him and that he was where the Dalek was pointing.

"Brilliant! Brilliant! It has detected the non-conformity," Davros congratulated.

"Aliens. I must exterminate. Exterminate," the Dalek spoke.

"No!" Ronson shouted as he ran to Davros and flicked the switch back. The Dalek's gun dropped.

"You dare to interfere! You have the audacity to interrupt one of my experiments?" Davros questioned.

"But it would have destroyed them," he defended.

"So you think the saving of two worthless lives are more important than the progress we have made? My creature showed the natural desire, an instinct to destroy, and you interceded! You will be punished for this!"

"Davros, I'm sorry, but I believe that these prisoners, they could be extremely valuable. By all means, when I have my questions, let the machine do what it likes with them but I do need to interrogate them further."

"You will be punished for insubordination. In the meantime, you may question the prisoners until first light. After that, they will be used to resume the experiment. This meeting is ended." Davros left and the scientists gathered around the Dalek.

"Thank you. I am obliged to you," the Doctor thanked.

"I was merely doing my duty. I believe that you have knowledge that could be of the greatest assistance to us. But if you don't cooperate, then it is certain that Davros will use you or her as an experiment with his machine in a few hours' time."

"The prisoners are to be taken to the cells. You can continue questioning them there. Davros orders it," Nyder told Ronson. We followed after Nyder with the guards behind us, as usual.

Harry and I were in a bunker as the Doctor was taken for questioning.

"So, this is the first time you have met me or Sarah?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Where were you before you came here?"

"I was with his Twelfth self and before that, his Ninth. This is my third adventure with him."

"Really, what was he like?"

"Twelve is a grumpy man with bushy eyebrows and a Scottish accent, and Nine has a northern accent and is slightly sarcastic."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, though they aren't that bad. They are quite interesting," I would've continued but the Doctor was thrown in and I didn't want to spoil his future, if I can.

 **Here is chapter 3. I managed to get it finished earlier than I thought I would. I'm aiming to do about a chapter a month. I have a poll on my profile if you want to check it out. In case anyone was wondering, I'm doing the episodes in a random order and I have already made a list of what episodes I'm doing next.**

 **This story was inspired by:**

 **Alexander- The seer and changer of time : By bored411**

 **Once upon another time : By Artemis Sherwood**

 **You should check out their stories. They are really good.**

 **I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters. I only own Emily.**

"You all right," Harry asked him.

"Looks like I might be," he replied.

"What happened?" I asked.

"They took down reams of notes, every bit of scientific gobbledygook I could think of. Technical jargon that even I didn't understand."

"That'll keep their experts tired up for weeks," Harry answered.

"Yes. And I learnt a great deal more from them than they did from me."

"About this bunker?"

"Yes."

"It is underground, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"Yes, and bomb proof. Impregnable from attack from the outside and about three or four miles from the Kaled dome."

"What are they doing down here?" I asked.

"Years ago the Kaled government decided to form an Elite group. The best scientific brains in every field," the Doctor explained.

"A sort of Think Tank," Harry added.

"Yes. But over the years the Elite has become more and more powerful, and now they can demand whatever they want."

"Open up," a voice said from the other side of the door.

"Perhaps this is tea?" Harry suggested.

The door opens up and Ronson enters, holding a pistol.

"There is no need to wait. I am armed," he told the guard and the guard left. "I'm sorry if they hurt you. I lack the courage to interfere."

"But you did save Emily and I from becoming the very first victims of the Dalek, thank you," the Doctor thanked.

"Thank you," I also thanked.

"Yes, now you use that word earlier. It had never been heard before. And yet only an hour ago, Davros announced that henceforth his Mark Three travel machine would be referred to as a Dalek. Now could you have known that?" Ronson asked.

"Well, I have an advantage in terms of time. You see, we've come here at this time because of future concern about the development of the Dalek. I think you're concerned too, aren't you?" the Doctor asked him. Ronson went to the door to make sure no one was listening and the Doctor told me and Harry, "I think he's going to bite."

"Yes, I am concerned, and there are a few other who think the same as I. But we're powerless."

"Then let us help you," the Doctor offered.

"You see, we believe that Davros has changed the direction of our research into something which is immoral, evil. You see, the Elite was formed to produce weapons that could end this war. We soon saw that this was futile and changed the direction of our research into the survival of our race. But our chemical weapons had already started to produce genetic mutations."

"And the mutations were banished out into the wastelands," Harry worked out.

"Yes."

"The Mutos," the Doctor added.

"Now Davros, he believes that there was no way to reverse this trend and so he started experiments to establish our final mutation form. He took living cells, treated them with chemicals and produced the ultimate creature. Come with me."

We walked down a corridor and Ronson stopped at a door.

"Now this is what the Kaleds will become." He pressed a button and a viewing panel opens in the door. The Doctor, Harry and I had a look in the green lit room where some sort of small, green blob creature with tentacles snarled and slithered. I stepped back with the others.

"That is our future," Ronson told us.

"You've got trouble," the Doctor told him. I couldn't help but agree.

"Go on, Ronson," the Doctor encouraged.

"Well, knowing our ultimate form, Davros had to devise a travel machine. The Dalek."

"Now he's trying to change that into a weapon."

"And he's succeeding. He's created a monster, utterly devoid of conscience."

"And you want to stop him," Harry worked out.

"Well, I must. There are a few in the Kaled government who still have the power to act. If they knew the truth, they would end Davros' power, close down this bunker, finish the Elite."

"Then go to them, Ronson, go to them," the Doctor told him.

"But I'm not allowed in the city. Security here is absolute," Ronson declined.

"Then help us escape. Give us the names of the men who have the power," the Doctor offered.

"Could you get us out of here?" I asked.

"Well, there is a way. Through one of the secondary ducts in the ventilation system that leads to a cave at the edge of the wastelands," Ronson said. I have a feeling that I don't like where this is going.

"Well?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"The entrance is barred. And there's something else. Davros' early experiments were with animals. Some of the things he created were horrific, and they're still alive."

"And I have an uneasy feeling you're going to tell me they're in that cave," the Doctor asked, also dreading the answer.

We found the duct and Harry removed the grille.

"These are the people you should try to contact," Ronson gave a piece of paper to the Doctor.

"Right-o," said Harry as he entered the duct.

"Look, if anything at all should happen," Ronson started.

"Don't worry, don't worry. We won't let it fall into the wrong hands," the Doctor reassured.

"Or let anyone know that you helped us," I added.

"Quick," Ronson hurried as the Doctor and I entered the duct. He replaced the grille and walked off.

We continued to crawl along in the duct where we found dirty mesh.

"Here's where it comes out into the cave," the Doctor told us. Something roared. It sounded like it was on the other side of the mesh. "Shush. What was that?"

"Probably one of Davros' pets," Harry suggested.

"By the sounds of it, it is probably a big one," I added, hiding slightly behind the Doctor.

Something with an armoured back lumbers past the mesh. I held my breath as it went past. Harry and the Doctor managed to push the mesh out of its frame and we entered the cave.

We wandered through the cave, trying to avoid any creatures that may be here. The Doctor in the lead as he seemed to know what he was doing. I was behind him and Harry last. They both seem pretty keen to making sure I'm well and protected. I'm not complaining or anything, but I wouldn't mind knowing who I am to them.

"Its lighter this way," the Doctor pointed out.

"Looks as though we've made it," Harry said happily.

"Look," the Doctor pointed over to the metal bars in a gap in the rock wall.

"It must be the way through to the wastelands," Harry pointed out.

We went over to the bars and Harry managed to get his leg caught in a giant clam.

"Doctor, Emily, quick! My leg! Quick! Pull it out, Doctor" Harry panicked. The Doctor tried to pull Harry but it didn't work.

I found a large rock and started to hit the clam with it but it didn't work.

"Quick, it's pulling me in!"

The Doctor broke off a stalactite and came back over. "Easy, easy." He used it to open the clam.

"Get that thing off," Harry pulled his leg out.

"I'm guessing that was one of Davros' experiments?" I asked.

"Magna peloris," Harry said in Latin.

"What?" the Doctor asked, confused.

"Giant clam. Its Latin," I translated.

"Never mind the Latin, let's have a look at your leg, Harry. Nothing seems to be broken. It's incredible. You have some bruises though, Harry," the Doctor diagnosed.

"Why is it always me who puts a foot in it?" he asked himself.

"Well, you're not the one who stood on a landmine," I pointed out, trying to make him feel better. He smiled.

"You'll be alright. Can you stand up?" the Doctor asked.

"I think so."

There was some snarling in the dark. I instinctively grabbed the Doctor's hand. I blushed when he smiled at me and was about to take my hand away when he squeezed it.

"Let's get out of here," the Doctor looked around, making sure that the creature wasn't close.

"We must look out for Sarah. She's out there somewhere," Harry worried.

"We'll find her. We've got to contact the Kaled leaders first," the Doctor told him. He tried to pull the bars apart but they didn't move.

"Try again. They seem pretty corroded," I told them. Harry helped the Doctor to pull and they finally move.

Ravon, Harry, the Doctor, me and two men in brown overalls waited in a room as two men in other coloured overalls entered.

"My fellow councillors, I've asked you to assemble here and not in our House of Congress as our meeting is of a most secret nature. There are no listening devices here, are there, Ravon," said the man I recently know as Mogran.

"Not that I know of, Mogran," Ravon replied.

"Doctor, will you please tell the councillors what you have told me?" Mogran asked the Doctor.

"Yes, of course, and some of what I will tell you relates to events in the future. Not only on this planet but also in others whose existence you don't even know of. But my knowledge is scientific fact. Now, Davros has created a machine creature, a monster which will terrorise and destroy millions and millions of lives and lands throughout all eternity. He has given this machine a name, a Dalek. It is a word new to you, but for a thousand generations, it is a name that will bring fear and terror. Now undoubtedly Davros has one of the finest scientific minds in existence, but he a fanatical desire to perpetuate himself in his machine. He works without conscience, without soul, without pity, and his machines are equally devoid of these qualities."

The councillors went over to a corner to decide what to do with the information.

"That was a very impressive speech, Doctor," Ravon told the Doctor, impressed.

"Yes, it was meant to be," the Doctor replied.

"Let's hope it's convinced them," Harry added.

"Yes, let's hope so, Harry. Sometimes words aren't enough."

"Well, they seem to have reached a decision." The three councillors leave.

"I'm afraid, Doctor, the councillors could not agree to halt all experimentation at the bunker," Mogran told us.

"The councillors are fools," Harry slightly insulted.

"Let me finish, please. It has been agreed that an independent tribunal will investigate all work that is being done at the bunker."

"But that could take months! Davros already has several prototype Daleks ready for action," the Doctor pleaded.

"It has also been agreed that pending the investigation, Davros' experiments will be suspended."

"It is less than I'd hoped for."

"And I promise you, Doctor, if your allegations are borne out, all work at the bunker will be closed down."

"Thank you."

"And now I must go with my committee and inform Davros of our decision."

"Now I think it's high time we looked for Sarah, don't you?" Harry asked.

"The one you left behind in the wastelands?" Ravon asked.

"Yes. You have some news of her?"

"I can't be certain, you understand, but our agents inside the Thal dome report a newly arrived girl prisoner who led an attempted breakout. Gave the Thals quite a bit of trouble," Ravon reported.

"That'll be her," Harry smiled, happily.

"In the Thal dome, you say?" the Doctor asked.

"The Thals are using prisoners to load their last great rocket," Ravon told him.

"Rocket?" I asked.

"They think they'll win the war with it. What they don't know is that no matter how powerful their rocket, it cannot penetrate our protective dome. Only a matter of months ago, Davros perfected a new substance which has the strength of thirty foot thick reinforced concrete."

"Yes, yes, well never mind about that. Could you help us find Sarah?" the Doctor asked.

"One of my agents could lead you into the service shafts underneath the Thal city," Ravon offered.

"Oh, good, good."

"But after that you're strictly on your own," Ravon quickly added.

"Fair enough," Harry shrugged.

"Right, I'll give you a map showing how to reach the rocket silo area."

"Thank you," said the Doctor.

"Well, Doctor, looks as though we've got to cross the wastelands again," Harry pointed out.

"Yes, and that's when our troubles really begin," the Doctor grinned.

"Oh joy," I said as I followed after them.

I crawled behind the Doctor as we went through the shafts. The Doctor stopped and stuck his out of the hatch. He started to climb out but then he came back down. Not a second later, he quickly climbed out, helping me out and Harry quickly followed. Harry closed the hatch behind him and we left. We walked through the corridors, about to turn the corner when a Thal came around the corner and entered the room. I followed Harry and the Doctor as they peered through the round porthole in the door. I managed to squeeze in and saw what they were looking at.

"What's Davros doing here in the Thal city?" Harry asked.

"Shush," the Doctor hushed.

I poked the Doctor and pointed towards the ventilation grill at the base of the door. He grinned at me and we bent down to listen.

"And I am no longer influenced by words such as patriotism and nationalism. My concern is only for peace, an end to this carnage that has virtually destroyed both our races," Davros told the Thals.

"Why aren't you telling this to your own government and people?" the Thal councillor asked.

"I have tried. Time and again, I have tried. But now they will only be satisfied with nothing other than total annihilation of the Thal people."

"Then they deserve to perish, and perish they will when we launch our rocket. It's primed and ready. The countdown for firing begins immediately."

"And it will fail."

"It can't fail."

"The Kaled dome cannot be penetrated. Your great rocket will hardly scratch it."

We quickly hid as a patrol passed, then we started to eavesdrop again.

"This is the nature of my faith. Nyder," Davros directed Nyder.

"It is a simple chemical formula. If the substance is loaded into the artillery shells and fired onto the surface of the Kaled dome, it will weaken the molecular structure and make it brittle. Your rocket will then be able to penetrate without resistance," Nyder explained.

"Why are you giving us this information? You know that your own people, the Kaleds, will utterly be exterminated," the councillor asked.

"No price is too great to pay for peace. I only ask that when the war is over, I be allowed to help in the reconstruction of our planet," Davros requested.

"We want only to see the conflict brought to an end. This formula gives you the power to bring that about," Nyder explained.

"By dawn tomorrow, our word could be at peace."

I heard Davros and Nyder walk towards the door and we hid again.

"You think they believe you?" Nyder asked.

"It is unimportant. They are hungry for victory. They will use the formula and fire their rocket no matter what they believe my motives to be. And when they do, Nyder, when they do," Davros schemed.

The Thals came out of the room.

"I've given orders that a barrage of shells containing the formula should begin as soon as possible. The rocket launch can begin immediately. And now I'll arrange your safe escort out of the city," the councillor informed. He then led Davros and Nyder away. We come out of hiding.

"Doctor, somehow we've got to warn Mogran and the other Kaled leader," Harry warned.

"Yes, and we haven't found Sarah yet. Come on," he walked down a corridor and we followed. We came across two guards wearing protective suits.

"Excuse me, can you help me? I'm a spy," he banged their heads together. "Their suits, Harry."

"What about Emily?" Harry asked.

"Simple. Sarah is a prisoner, right? Meaning she is being kept with other prisoners. Just pretend that I'm your prisoner if anyone asks," I explained.

We eventually found where the rocket was being kept. The Doctor opened the door while Harry was holding me with my hands behind my back, like I was a prisoner. We entered and the Doctor gestured to the guard. He came over and Harry punched the guard in the stomach, after letting me go, and knocked the guard out. They took their helmets off when the coast was clear.

"Harry! Emily! Doctor!" Sarah yelled happily.

"Are you alright, Sarah," I asked as I looked her over for signs of injury.

"Oh, I am now. Listen, we've got to get out of here. The Thals are going to launch this rocket," Sarah informed us.

"Yes, yes, I know. Listen. I want you, Emily and Harry to go back to the Kaled dome. Harry knows the way. Tell them what we know. There's a chance if they launch an all-out offensive, I might be able to stop the rocket," the Doctor told us.

"What are you going to do?" Sarah asked.

"Try and sabotage it, or at least delay it. Off you go," he ordered.

"Right."'

"Good luck."

"Sevrin, you come with us," Sarah asked one of the prisoners.

"Well, don't just stand there. Come on, you're free! Go now while you've got a chance. Come on!" the Doctor yelled to the remaining prisoners.

The rest of the Mutos shambled out and the Doctor went over to the rocket. Sarah looked at me when she realised that I hadn't moved. I shook my head and nodded over to the Doctor. She nodded, whispered to Harry and left the room, followed by the others.

 _Makes me wonder how often I do this in the future_ , I wondered. I walked over to the Doctor as he was inspecting the rocket. I placed my hand on his shoulder and looked at me and sighed.

"I figured that since you are early in your time line that you might've gone. But I can see now that isn't the case," he told me as he continued to inspect the rocket.

I heard some footsteps in the background and electricity ran along the base of the scaffolding. Since the Doctor was now touching and inspecting the scaffolding and my hand was still on his shoulder, the electricity ran through me, causing me to black out.

I woke up to the sounds of distant explosions. It would seem that the Doctor just woke up as well. _That was an unpleasant experience. Not fun, never getting electrocuted again if I can help it._ I held my head as I watched the Thals who were watching the bombardment of the Kaled dome on a wall monitor.

"It's working. The Kaled dome is breaking up. Start the countdown for the rocket launch," the councillor ordered.

"No, you mustn't," the Doctor pleaded as the clocked started to count from fifty. He looked around the room and quickly stopped me next to him. He gave me a quick look over. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad, considering. Though, I don't want to be electrocuted again. One time is enough," I replied.

"I did tell you to go with Sarah and Harry."

"And how often does that work?" I teased.

"Not as often as I would like. I just want you safe," he said, softly.

"And you don't think I want the same for you. Sarah has Harry to keep her safe. Who is going to do the same to you? I may not have known you as long as you have known me but I have a feeling that yes, you want me to be safe, but you also want me to be beside you."

"Oh, Emily."

The countdown dropped past seven and the rocket engines start. The Doctor made a lunge for the abort button but was stopped by the Thals. The councillor pressed the launch button.

"I sent Harry and Sarah in there," he said quietly. I started to cry silently into the Doctor's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my waist and rested his head against mine, my/his hat falling to the ground.

On the monitor, I saw the Kaled dome explode.

"A thousand years of war, and now it's ended. Listen, the people, they know already. Gentlemen, there's a great deal to be done. I must speak to the people. There must be a victory parade. And as for them, they must be punished. No, let us show that whilst we were ruthless in war, we are generous in victory. Let all prisoners be freed, charges against them dropped. Issue that statement at once," the councillor left as did his entourage and the soldiers.

A young woman came over to us. "Did you two have friends in the Kaled city?"

"Yes. Two people very dear to us. I sent them into that holocaust," he looked at her.

"What will you do now?"

"Start again. Try and find a way to complete what I set out to do and stop the development of the Daleks."

"Daleks?" she asked.

"Yes. Machine creatures that Davros is developing. Monster," he informed her.

"Davros? No, you're wrong. It was he who told us how to destroy the Kaled dome. His only interest is in achieving peace," she argued.

"Let me tell you something. The Kaled government was on the point of stopping Davros' experiments, and rather than let that happen, he helped you to destroy his own race."

"You'll never convince my people of that. Davros is a hero."

"Yes, for how long, I wonder."

"I must go. Under the general amnesty, you're free to leave whenever you want."

"Thank you," I said quietly, wiping the tear marks away.

The Doctor took of his protective suit and wrapped his scarf around his neck. He took his hat off my head and place it on his own. We met a crowd of happy Thals in the corridor.

"Peace! Thank you!" one said happily. They went around the corner.

Not a moment later, the Doctor and I heard the words, "Exterminate. Exterminate!"

We quickly met up with the young woman from before, running away. "Exterminate!" the Dalek screamed again.

"What are they?" she asked.

"Keep back. Out of sight," the Doctor ordered as we hid around the corner. The Daleks rolled past. "We've got to get out of the Thal dome."

"Are those the daleks?" she asked.

"Yep," I nodded.

"Out into the wastelands. Do you know the way?" the Doctor asked. She nodded. "Good. As Emily said, they are the Daleks. Come on, lead the way."

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" the Dalek screamed. There was also screams and gun fire somewhere behind the sandbags trenches that we hid behind.

"Oh, there was no need to go that far. When our leaders saw they were beaten, they should have surrendered," she complained.

"Perhaps they did. But the Daleks accept no terms. They're programmed to wipe the Thals from the face of this planet," the Doctor told her.

"But there must be some who'll escape, some survivors?"

"A few, perhaps, but they need to be grouped into some kind of fighting force to strike the bunker."

"What?" she asked.

"Well, destroy Davros, and you destroy the Daleks," he cleared up.

"What chance do we have against them?"

"It's your only chance. Will you do it?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Good girl. I'm going to try and get back into the bunker now."

"Alone?" she asked.

"No. I have Emily. Good luck."

"Bye," I waved to her as the Doctor and I left.

We were making our way through the wastelands when we were jumped by some Mutos. One lifted a large rock when he was tackled by Harry. Sevrin scared the other off.

"All right," Sarah asked Harry.

"Yes," he replied. He helped me off the ground when I gave him a big hug. I then gave Sarah one as well and she looked at me confused.

"Doctor?" Sarah asked.

"The Mutos are gone, Doctor," I teased.

"Harry!" he cheered.

"Hello."

"Sarah! I can hardly believe it," the Doctor said, happily.

"What's the matter with you two?" Sarah asked.

"I thought you two were dead," I said quietly.

"We thought you were in the Kaled dome when it was hit," he clarified.

"We didn't get there," Sarah started.

"No. no, you see, halfway across the wastelands we were attacked by a band of Mutos," Harry continued.

"And that's when the rocket was launched."

"And then when the Kaled dome exploded…"

"The Mutos just ran for their lives," Sarah finished.

"Well, of course, I knew you'd try to get back into the bunker through the cave," Harry stated.

"You were absolutely right, Harry. It's vital we go back into the bunker."

"Why?" Sarah asked.

"Because they took the Time Ring," I told her.

"The bracelet that the Time Lord gave me is our life line. Without it we can never escape from this planet" the Doctor clarified.

We ended up by the bent bars into the cave.

"Sevrin, would you do something for us, something important?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"Over in the Kaled trenches there's a Thal, a girl named Bettan. She's trying to form a resistance group. Join her with as many of your own people as you can get. Their idea is to knock out the bunker," he informed Sevrin.

"Do you think they'll get away with it?" he asked the Doctor.

"It'll keep the Elite's troops occupied while I try to find a weakness of the Daleks."

"Ok. Good luck, Doctor."

"Sevrin, thank you," Sarah thanked him.

We went through the bars and entered the cave. There was some growling close by.

"What was that?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, just one of Davros' experiments. We'd better stick close together," the Doctor figured.

"You're not scared, are you?" Harry asked.

"Of course not," she denied.

"I am," Harry admitted.

"So am I," I grabbed the Doctor's hand and he squeezed it, calming me slightly as we walked further into the caves.

We walked through a colony of giant clams that were lying in wait.

"Not much further. The entrance to the ventilation duct must be just through here," the Doctor assumed.

"Are you sure, Doctor? It doesn't look familiar?" Harry asked.

"Well, it has the giant clams," I pointed out.

"Look out, Harry!" the Doctor yelled.

Sarah turned and nearly fell into a clam.

"Jump!" he yelled as we cleared the line of molluscs and continued to run.

"I'll never eat oysters again," Sarah said when we stopped.

"They're not every fast," the Doctor noticed.

"It's obviously why Davros discarded them," Harry thought.

"They are also clams. They don't move very fast on dry land," I pointed out.

"Come on, we're there," the Doctor pointed towards the steel duct. Harry entered it first, wanting to get away from the clams and other creatures.

"Listen, I've been down tunnels before and I've just had a rather nasty thought," Sarah started.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. Suppose something's waiting for us in there," she continued.

"That is nasty. Better not tell Harry, he's gone first," he commented.

Sarah climbed in, with me following behind and the Doctor bringing up the rear. When we made to the room on the other side, Harry opened the grille and we all got out. The lights came on.

"Welcome back," Davros greeted.

"You were right, Sarah, about there being something nasty waiting for us," the Doctor said with dread.

"Fuck," I swore under my breath.

"Language," Harry muttered.

I was strapped to a sloping torture table whereas the Doctor was strapped and wire into a torture chair. Harry and Sarah were in a different room. Though, I don't know why I was in here rather in with them. Maybe because he had more leverage with me being in here.

"I have read the initial reports of your interrogation. The suggestion that you have travelled through space and time was utterly dismissed by the computer analysis," Davros started.

""I imagine it had never been programmed for such a concept," the Doctor replied.

"Precisely. I, however, I am perhaps more flexible. Through the power of such travel is beyond my scientific comprehension, it is not beyond my imagination. Why did you come here?"

"To stop the development of the Daleks."

"Why?" Davros asked.

"Because having lived in what you would call the future, I have seen the carnage and destruction they have caused."

"Then my Daleks do go on. They do survive."

"Yes, as weapons of hate and machines of war."

"Fascinating."

"But there's still time to change all that. Why not make them a force of good throughout the universe?" the Doctor asked.

"I could do it."

"Then do it. Be remember for that," the Doctor encouraged.

"You have seen my Daleks in battle," Davros asked.

"Many times. I've fought against them."

"And do they win? Do they always win?"

"Not always. They have been defeated, but never utterly defeated. The Dalek menace always remains."

"If, as you say, they become the supreme creatures of war, how can they lose? How can they fail?" Davros demanded.

"Misfortune, lack of information, sometimes overwhelming opposition."

"Yes, but tell me, how do the Daleks fail?" Davros demanded again.

"No, Davros, that is a question that the future must keep secret."

I don't like the way this is going. Especially with me being strapped to a torture table.

"What mistakes do they make? You will tell me!" Davros continued to demand.

"No."

"You will tell me!"

"No, I will not!" the Doctor yelled back.

"Nyder," Nyder left the room. "You will tell me because you have a weakness that I have totally eliminated from the minds of the Daleks so they will always be superior. A weakness that will make you give me the knowledge to change the future. You are afflicted with a conscience."

Nyder returned with Harry and Sarah and hooked them up to the other two torture benches.

"Nyder. Let me tell you what is going to happen. You will answer my questions. You will answer them carefully and precisely. The instruments to which you are wired are particularly sensitive. They will detect instantly any attempt to lie," Davros informed.

"And if I do lie?" the Doctor asked.

"If you do lie, your friends will suffer. I can create in their bodies all the torments and agonies ever known. And the female closest to you, the one you care for most, will receive the most agonising and painful torment she will ever know."

Davros turned a large red knob and I heard someone screaming. I took a second to realise that it was me screaming. Lucky for me, mine was turned off before I blacked out. Though, I did feel a bit faint.

"Now, you will tell me the reason for every Dalek defeat. With that knowledge, I will programme them. With that knowledge, they will know their errors and how to avoid them. With that knowledge, there shall be no defeats! We will begin!" Davros commanded.

"Davros, if I tell you what you want to know, I betray millions of people in the future. I can't do that," the Doctor argued.

"But you can! You will tell me! You will tell me! You will tell me!"

"Doctor, please, don't tell, Doctor," Harry pleaded.

"All right, all right. Just leave them alone," the Doctor submitted. Davros turned down the pain giver. The Doctor gave me a quick look over and I smiled weakly back at him, unable to do much more. "The Dalek invasion of the Earth in the year 2000 was foiled because of an attempt by the Daleks to mine the core of the planet. The magnetic properties of the Earth were…mars…the Daleks were defeated by a virus that attacked the insulation on the cables in their electrical systems…in the space year 17000 was halted by the intervention of a fleet of war rockets from the planet Hyperon. The rockets were made of a metal that was completely resistant to Dalek firepower. The Dalek Task Force was completely destroyed." The tape recorder stops.

"This seems an opportune moment to end this session. Nyder. Release the prisoners. Take them to the detention area," Davros commanded. Three soldiers entered and released Harry, Sarah and I. I fell to the ground and I was still too weak to get back up. "Interrogation will continue later. And I must thank you, Doctor. What you have told me will be invaluable." Nyder released the Doctor. "All this information, this foreknowledge, will be programmed into the Dalek memory banks. Take them away."

The solders took Sarah and Harry out of the room. The last solder moved to take me away as Davros continued to speak.

"Doctor, stay a moment."

"Only if Emily stays in here as well. Next to me," the Doctor requested. Davros nodded, seeing as I was too weak to do anything. The Doctor came over and carried me back to where he was sitting, placing me on the floor next to him.

"Sit down. Let us talk together now, not as prisoner and captor, but as men of science. There is so much I wish to know. Nyder, take charge of the tape."

"Immediately, Davros," Nyder responded.

"It will be your responsibility, and remember, it is priceless. Its value beyond computation."

Nyder left with the tape.

"Now, future errors will be eradicated. Defeats will become victories. You have changed the future of the universe, Doctor," Davros thanked.

"I have betrayed the future. Davros, for the last time, consider what you're doing. Stop the development of the daleks," the Doctor pleaded.

"Impossible. It is beyond my control. The workshops are already fully automated to produce the Dalek machines."

"It's not the machines, it's the minds of the creatures inside them. Minds that you created. They are total evil."

"Evil? No. no, I will not accept that. They are conditioned simply to survive. They can survive only by becoming the dominant species. When all other life forms are suppressed, when the Daleks are the supreme rulers of the universe, then you will have peace. Wars will end. They are the power not of evil, but of good."

"Davros, if you had created a virus in your laboratory, something contagious and infectious that killed on contact, a virus that would destroy all other forms of life, would you allow its use?" the Doctor asked, theoretically.

"An interesting conjecture," Davros replied.

"But would you do it?"

"The only living thing, a microscopic organism, reigning supreme. A fascinating idea."

"But would you do it?" the Doctor asked again.

"Yes. Yes. To hold in my hand a capsule that contains such power, to know that life and death on such a scale was my choice. To know that the tiny pressure on my thumb, enough to break the glass, would end everything. Yes, I would do it! That power would set me up above the gods. And through the Daleks, I shall have that power!"

The Doctor grabbed Davros' arm and they arm wrestled.

"Release me," Davros commanded.

"No, Davros," the Doctor denied.

"Don't touch that switch."

"Why not?" the Doctor asked.

"It controls my life support system. I could not survive thirty seconds without them."'

 _Why would Davros tell the Doctor that? Why tell an enemy about something that may kill you?_ I wondered as I watched the two.

"Order the destruction of the incubator section," the Doctor ordered.

"Destroy the Daleks? Never."

The Doctor pressed the little black switch and an alarm went off. Davros started to crumple. The Doctor pressed it again and he revives.

"I mean it, Davros. Next time I press that switch, it stays pressed. Now give the order!" the Doctor yelled.

"Even if I do this, there will be no escape for you or the female."

"I'll take that chance. Now give the order."

"Press the communicator switch." The Doctor did so. "This is Davros. Elite unit seven will go to the incubator room. All survival maintenance systems are to be closed down. The Dalek creatures are to be destroyed."

"Tell them the order cannot be countermanded," the Doctor commanded.

I saw Nyder come up behind the Doctor and I tried to get his attention but he was too focused on Davros.

"This order cannot-" Nyder struck the Doctor from behind with his cosh, knocking him out. "This is Davros, this is Davros. My last order is cancelled, repeat, cancelled. No action is to be taken."

"What do you want done with these two?" Nyder asked.

"For the moment, they must be kept alive. He has knowledge that is vital to our future and he cares for the female very much. I will drain every last detail of the future from his mind. And then, he will learn the true meaning of pain," Davros replied.

"I will take them to the detention room."

"The dissidents. What progress are they making?" Davros asked.

"Feeling against you is rising. Many of the scientific corps are opening speaking against you. Even some of the military are joining them," Nyder reported.

"As I expected."

The Doctor woke up, unnoticed by Nyder and Davros but not me. I smiled at him and he winked back, smiling.

"They will take action soon?" Davros enquired.

"Almost certainly. They outnumber those of us who are loyal. Davros, why don't you let me take a squad of Elite men I can trust? In an hour, I could wipe out their leaders."

"You think like a soldier, Nyder. Rebellion is an idea in the mind. Suppress it, and it hides away and festers. No. My way is best," Davros settled.

"As you wish. On your feet!" Nyder ordered the Doctor.

The Doctor picked me up and Nyder took us out of the room.

We approached a guard who had his back towards us outside of the detention room.

"Open Up," Nyder ordered.

The guard turned around and I discovered that it was Harry. He pointed his gun at Nyder and Nyder pushed the Doctor, therefore me, at Harry. The Doctor managed to keep a good grip on me as Harry tried to go after Nyder.

"Not exactly as planned, Sarah," Harry said as he came back, without Nyder.

The Doctor managed to put me down safely in the detention room and he sat down next to me. In the room was the actual guard, bound, gagged and stripped. Some guy took the gun off Harry, someone Harry and Sarah met, by the looks of it.

"How's the Doctor and Emily?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Sarah responded.

Harry checked on us and took off the Kaled uniform he was wearing.

"He's a bit groggy but he'll be all right. And Emily is just a bit weak from whatever Davros did to her. She should be fine soon," Harry reported.

"Come on, Kavell, we've a lot to do," said the guy who took the gun. Meaning the other guy is Kavell.

"What about the guards? Suppose they won't come over to our side?" Kavell asked.

"They'll be disarmed and held in custody until we've presented our ultimatum to Davros."

"No, wait, wait. Davros knows what you're planning. I heard him talking to Nyder," the doctor informed them.

"If he knows, why hasn't he taken action against us?" asked gun guy.

"Perhaps because he knows it's futile. There are too many of us," suggested Kavell.

"No, it's not that. I don't know what he's got prepared for you, but believe me, he's ready," the Doctor warned.

"He's got some plan ready, he's too smart not to," I added, my voice returned, though a bit sore from screaming.

"Well, even so, there'll still be too many for him," disregarded gun guy.

"Just be careful. Be careful," warned the Doctor.

"I think we can take care of things. Thanks for the warning," Kavell ignored the warning. He and gun guy left.

"No point in telling you to rest, I suppose?" Sarah asked me and the Doctor.

"No, there isn't. We've got to recover that Time Ring," the Doctor responded, getting up.

"Nope. I should be able to move a bit, just slowly," I replied, getting up and leaning on the Doctor.

"Because without it, we'll never get off this planet. But where is it?" Sarah asked.

"It's on the desk in the main laboratory. And then there's that tape recording that Nyder took. We've got to get back at all costs. It would make the Daleks invincible. Come on."

We walked down a corridor before we came across a large cupboard. It was locked.

"Shush," the Doctor hushed. He rattled the cupboard to open it before using a gizmo on it. It contained camouflage clothing. He gave some to Sarah. "Useful. Ah. This is something rather more useful."

"They're explosives, aren't they?" I asked.

"Yes. Explosives and detonators. It seems almost providential," the Doctor answered.

"Why? What are you going to use them for?" Sarah asked.

"The Time Lord gave him three options. Find an inherited weakness, affect their genetic development so they become less aggressive creatures or…" I explained.

"Genocide," the Doctor finished.

"Genocide?" Harry repeated.

"Yes. I'm going to kill everything in the incubation room. I'm going to destroy the Daleks forever."

We came to the incubation room that we were at before. I could hear a gurgling sound coming from the room.

"The Daleks are in there?" Sarah asked.

"The flesh and blood part of them. Indeed they are flesh and blood," the Doctor answered.

"Some of them can move about," Harry added.

"Sort of like octopuses or something similar," I helped.

"Well, how do I see?" Sarah asked.

"Press the button," I pointed out the button to her.

She pressed the button and the viewing panel was uncovered. Sarah looked into the green lit room.

"Here we go, Harry," the Doctor told Harry.

"You're not going in there, are you?" Sarah asked.

"They're harmless enough, I think. Just unpleasant," the Doctor guessed.

"Sure, the embryos of an evil machine creature that has tentacles will be harmless," I muttered.

"If they're not, you get to say 'I told you so'," the Doctor replied, cheekily. I smiled and shook my head at him. He handed the ends of the detonator wires to Harry.

"You don't want me to come in, do you, Doctor?" Harry offered.

"There's no need, Harry. It just remains to put the charges where they'll do the most damage. It shouldn't take me more than a couple of minutes."

Harry took the roll of wire from the Doctor and rolled it out as Harry, Sarah and I backed away along the corridor. When we got far enough away from the room, Harry trimmed the ends of the wires to attach to the detonator.

"What's taking him so long?" Sarah asked.

"It's a very delicate operation, Sarah. Still, he should have finished by now," Harry became concerned.

"Doctor? Doctor, are you all right?" Sarah called out.

The Doctor came out of the room with an angry embryo Dalek wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Sarah!" he called back.

"Harmless, my ass," I muttered as I went over to help.

"Get it off! Get it off!" Sarah yelled.

Harry, Sarah and I pulled at the embryo and managed to get it off the Doctor's throat. Harry threw part of it back into the incubation room and the Doctor did the same with the remains. I closed the door and we moved back to where the wires are. The Doctor grabbed the wires but hesitated putting them together.

"What are you waiting for?" Sarah asked.

"Just touch these two strands together and the Daleks are finished. Have I that right?" the Doctor asked.

"To destroy the Daleks? You can't doubt it," she answered.

"Well, I do. You see, some things could be better with the Daleks. Many future worlds will become allies just because of their fear of the Daleks."

"But it isn't like that."

"But the final responsibility is mine, and mine alone. Listen, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you kill that child?" the Doctor asked, theoretically.

"We're talking about the Daleks, the most evil creatures ever invented. You must destroy them. You must complete you mission for the Time Lords," Sarah argued.

"Do I have the right? Simply touch one wire against the other and that's it. The Daleks cease to exist. Hundreds of millions of people, thousands of generations can live without fear, in peace, and never even known the word Dalek."

"Then why wait? If it was a disease or some sort of bacteria you were destroying, you wouldn't hesitate."

"But I kill, wipe out a whole intelligent life form, then I become like them. I'd be no better than the Daleks."

"Think of all the suffering there'll be if you don't do it."

"Doctor! Doctor, I've been looking everywhere for you. Davros has agreed to our terms," the gun guy said happily.

"He submitted?" Harry asked.

"He did, but he asked only one thing. That he might be allowed to address a meeting of all the Elite, scientific and military."

"He's going to put a case?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes, but a vote will be taken. It's a foregone conclusion. There'll be a complete landslide against any further development of the Daleks. We've won," gun guy cheered.

"I'm grateful to you, Gharman. More than I can tell you," the Doctor smiled, relieved.

"The meeting is about to being. Will you come?" gun guy, that I now know as Gharman, asked.

"Yes," the Doctor replied and gave the wires a tug, pulling them out of the incubation room.

We entered the laboratory, Gharman still carrying a weapon.

"Everyone is here, Davros," Gharman told him.

"The issues are simple and clear cut. I have given my life's work to the survival of our race. The travel machine I designed, the Dalek, will give the creature into which we will mutate its only possibility of continued existence."

"But you have deviated from that intention. You have introduced genetic changes that will alter the mutation into a creature without morals and without ethics."

"I have introduced aggression, without which no race can survive."

"But aggression without a conscience."

"History will show that cooperation between different species is impossible. One race must survive all others, and to do this it must dominate. Ruthlessly."

The Doctor gestured to Sarah, since she was the closet to the table, for her to get his equipment from the table.

"Now I intend that when all the bickering and battling is over, the supreme victor shall be our race, the Daleks," Davros continued.

Sarah handed the etheric beam locator and the sonic screwdriver to Harry, who passed them to me and I handed them to the Doctor, who grinned at me.

"At this very moment, the production lines stand ready, totally automated, fully programmed. The Daleks are no longer dependant on us. The machinery is ready. They are a power in their own right. If any one of you would destroy everything that we have ever achieved, then here is a destruct button," Davros went over to a big red button on the console. "Press it, and you will destroy this bunker and everything in it. Only this room will remain. Press it, and you will wipe out our entire race, destroy the Daleks forever. Which of you will do it?" There was only silence as the Kaleds looked at each other. "You are men without courage. You have lost your right to survive."

"The Time Ring isn't here, Doctor," Harry whispered.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"The Time Ring, it's not here," Harry repeated.

Gharman handed his weapon to a colleague and walked over to Davros.

"You have heard Davros' case. What he has not made clear is that there is another way."

"There is no other way!" Davros argued.

"Production of the Dalek can continue. We can destroy the genetically conditioned creatures and allow the mutation to follow its own course. Our race will survive if it deserves to survive, but let it have all the strengths and weaknesses that we have. Compassion and hate. Let it do good things and evil. But we cannot let it become an unfeeling, heartless machine. That is our choice. Now, we must decide," presented Sharman.

"We've got to find that Time Ring," the Doctor whispered to us.

"Doctor," Sarah called as she found the Time Ring.

"Good girl, Sarah. Now all we need is the tape recording, so keep an eye on Nyder."

"You've heard our cases. I will give you two minutes to decide. Then you must answer not only to me, but to the future," Davros advised.

The Elite confer and the two minutes went quickly.

"You have had ample time to decide. Those who remain loyal to me and the future of our race, move forward and stand at my side," Davros asked. Two scientists joined Davros. "No more? Krovos, will you betray me?"

"Now I wonder where Nyder's going at such a crucial moment," the Doctor asked, drawing my attention to Nyder, who was sneaking out of the room.

"I think we ought to find out," Harry suggested.

"So do I. Let's go," the Doctor gestured.

"Someone's being a naughty boy," I followed after the others through the door near the table.

Me, Harry and Sarah confronted Nyder in the corridor. He backed away, then raised his cosh and the Doctor grabbed his arm from behind. They struggled and the cosh was dropped as well as the Time Ring, unnoticed. The Doctor picked up the cosh.

"Now where are you going in such a hurry," the Doctor asked.

"Davros has lost. I am getting awhile I can," Nyder replied.

"Oh. Somehow that just doesn't ring true."

"Why didn't you just join the other side?" Sarah asked.

"Unless you're not running away," I accused.

"Now that is a good question. Do you have a good answer? Evidently not. Well then, let's try something else. That tape recording you took, where is it?" the Doctor asked.

"Its put away in a safe in Davros' office," Nyder told us.

"Shall we go and see?" the Doctor asked.

"Down here," Nyder lead the way to Davros' office.

We got to the office where there is a wall safe in the middle of a large Elite corps symbol. The Doctor quickly examined it and turned to Nyder.

"Now, be reasonable and open it for us."

"Only Davros knows the combination," he claimed.

"Come on, Nyder, you can do better than that," Harry didn't buy it.

"Perhaps he's telling the truth," Sarah suggested.

"He's not. Look at it this way, Davros is confined to his chair, so he can't reach the safe. And he can only use his right hand. Also, Davros doesn't go anywhere without Nyder. So how does he get the safe open?" I asked her. The Doctor grinned at me and I blushed.

"Good girl, Emily. Therefore, Nyder opens the safe for him. Open it for us," the Doctor asked Nyder.

Nyder reached up and opened the safe, handing the tape to the Doctor.

"Thank you. Now lets destroy it."

"Er, how about this?" Sarah asked. The Doctor went over to examine what she found.

"How very apt. A Dalek gun." He placed the tape on the ground and fire the gun at it. Nyder ran out of the room. "There."

Harry ran for the door but it closed in his face and it refused to open.

"He's not important."

"What?" Sarah asked.

"We've got the Time Ring, we've destroyed the tape and Davros' power is broken," he clarified.

"What about the Daleks that are already operational?"

"Oh, I think we can leave Gharman to destroy them."

"That means we can leave, then," Harry said, happily.

"Yes, all we've got to do is touch the Time Ring." He pushed his sleeve up and his arm was bare.

"Really, Doctor?" I complained.

"Ah. I must have dropped it in the struggle in the corridor," he guessed.

"Well now we've got to get out of here," Sarah complained.

The Doctor tried using his sonic on the door.

"Even the sonic screwdriver won't open the door," he complained.

"Doctor," Sarah tried to get his attention.

"Huh?" I followed him as he went over to see what Harry and Sarah were viewing. On the monitor, the view was looking down at the laboratory.

"Why is it going on for so long?" Sarah asked.

"Who knows? Its out of character for Davros to submit quite so easily."

Apparently Davros knew what their plan was and wanted to see who was still loyal to him. He allowed the Daleks to enter, killing all the scientists and military.

We heard some footsteps outside, so we hid on either side of the door. Harry and Sarah on one side and the Doctor and I on the other. Since he was the taller one, he was leaning over me, which he didn't seem to mind. The door opened to reveal Sevrin.

"Sevrin!" Sarah yelled, happily.

"I haven't got much time. The Thals have set the explosives at the entrance. They'll detonate as soon as they're ready," he reported.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Give me a moment to find the Time Ring," the Doctor asked.

We went back down the corridor and found it on the ground.

"Ah! Good. Lets go. Back, back!" the Doctor yelled as he saw the Daleks. We tried to hide but they're everywhere. "Back!"

We ran down another corridor when Sevrin noticed something.

"We're not far from the main entrance. If we can get through the next section, we'll be safe."

"Sarah, take this," the Doctor handed her the Time Ring. "I would've given it to Emily but I don't know when she might disappear. Sevrin, lead them to the main entrance. Get them out of here."

"Right," Sevrin replied.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"I'm going back to the incubator room. This time I'm going blow it up," he answered.

"Let us come with us," Sarah offered.

"No! Get out of here. Hurry. Now, go on. You too, Emily," he lightly ordered me. I followed Harry, Sarah and Sevrin.

We found the entrance and we quickly ran out. I found Bettan and a few others waiting there to detonate the explosives.

"Oh, I'd given up hope. Now quickly, move away. We're about to detonate," Bettan informed us.

"No, you can't, not yet," Sarah pleaded.

"You must wait," Harry added.

"Please, the Doctor is still inside," I asked.

"A few minutes, please," Sevrin pleaded.

"All right, a few minutes. But if there's any indication of the Daleks moving up that corridor, then I detonate," Bettan gave in slightly.

"We're getting a picture on one of these monitors," said one of the Thals. On the monitor was Davros ordering a patrol of Daleks to the main entrance, the entrance we were at.

"That's it. I can't wait any longer. Some of you get those doors closed. The rest of you move away," Bettan ordered.

"One more minute, please," Harry pleaded.

"I'm sorry," she apologised.

Me, Harry and Sarah watched through the small gap through the nearly closed doors.

"Fire," Bettan ordered.

A Thal lifted the plunger handle when I saw it.

"No, wait! He's coming! He's coming!" I called out as the Doctor ran towards the doors. He managed to squeeze through the gap as the Daleks rolled behind him at a slower pace.

"Quickly!" Sarah yelled.

The Doctor came over to us where it is was safe and the doors closed as the Daleks started to fire.

"Now!" Bettan ordered.

The Daleks on the other side of the door got caught in the explosion and the whole place shook with the massive explosion.

"The incubator room, were you able to do anything?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, with a little help from a Dalek. But I'm afraid I've only delayed them for a short time. Perhaps a thousand years," the Doctor replied.

"What?" I asked.

"In the total time scale, no more than that."

"Look," Harry pointe to the monitor. The Daleks were turning against Davros since they don't register Davros as being superior to them. They killed him.

"Damn it, I wanted to stay longer," I muttered under my breath as a headache started to form.

"You have to go now, don't you," the Doctor asked.

"Yeah, but can you answer one question for me? Who am I to you?"

"Someone very precious to me, that all you need to know."

"See you soon, Doctor. See you later, Harry, Sarah," I called to them. The orange flames took over my vision and I managed to hear the Doctor's replied.

"See you soon, Emily."

When I landed, I didn't stay on my feet too long as the room was shaking and I tripped over someone. I fell to the ground hard and my vision went black. I managed to see someone wearing a rainbow jacket before I blacked out.


	4. Time and the Rani

**Well, here's the next chapter, Time and the Rani. Sorry that it was a little later than expected. For those who are interested, on my profile, is my estimated date for the next chapter. Also, out of curiosity, I have a poll going as to who are peoples top two favourite Doctors.**

 **I don't own Doctor who or anything related to it. It is owned by BBC. I only own Emily.**

I woke up to the sound of someone entering the Tardis. The creature was a tall and lean, humanoid, male in shape, wearing a long orange tunic with yellow sleeves. There was a strange turban-like covering which protrudes a vast mane of yellow and black streaked hair. There was along a woman lying on the floor, unconscious from what I could see. The creature stook over the woman and put her over his shoulder. He looked around and spotted me. I raised my hands in the surrendered position.

"I'll just follow you. Just don't hurt her," I gestured to the female in his hands. I pretty sure that she is the Doctor's companion.

He nodded before exiting the Tardis. I followed after him and found that the planet I was on had a rocky terrain. There wasn't really much to look at, much like Skaro but no as war ridden. When managed to walk a fair bit when the woman started to struggled, regaining conscious. He fell to the ground, not expecting her to wake up. She ran off and I went off after her. She went down a path and came across another one of the creatures, smaller and more female looking. The female became scared and ran in a different direction, causing her to trip on a wire. The wire caused an explosion and a bubble of energy encased around her. The bubble started to ascend into the sky and she screamed as the bubble spun randomly. It caught the side of a rock, there was an explosion and it was sent flying in another direction. It now headed directly towards a rock face. The bottom of the bubble detonates causing the bubble to explode.

Both me and the woman saw the whole thing and she moved over to where the male creature was standing. She reached out to offer a hand of sympathy but he pushed it back at her. He went over to the skeletal remains were and crouched down. After a few minutes, he got up and pushed her away. I just remained my distance out of respect.

"Go on, run. Run! The areas swarming with traps as well you know," he yelled.

"Me? Why should I? This is insane," she complained.

"Don't play the innocent. Your friends set this trap," he accused.

"Look, it's all very well being upset…" she started.

"Upset?! Another of your obscene murders takes place…" he yelled.

"Stop accusing her. This couldn't have anything to do with her," I defended her, growing protective.

"Lies! If I didn't need you two as hostages, you'd both be dead," he informed.

"A hostage? For what?" I asked, confused.

"To exchange for our leader. Your friends took him prisoner."

"Why do you keep called them friends of ours. I'm pretty sure that I've never met them before," I asked.

"They arrived for outer space as you did. Now they can have you back…on my terms."

He bound the woman's handed and he practically drags her behind him. I followed behind as I didn't want anything to happen to her. Me and her talked a bit while we followed him.

"I've missed you so much, Emily," she told me.

"Ah, I haven't met you yet. This is the first time for me," I admitted.

"Oh, well, I'm Melanie but everyone calls me Mel," she introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Mel. I'm guessing you're the Doctor's companion?"

"Yeah, he wears a multi-coloured jacket. Have you met him yet?"

"Not yet. This is my fourth adventure in total."

We worked our way down the side of a steep incline. I had it slightly easier than Mel as I could use my hands more. She still had her hands bound so it was a bit harder as we slips and slide at parts of the incline.

"Will you listen? How many more times do I have to tell you? We're not your enemy. Look, can we start from scratch? My name's Mel and this is Emily, we came from Earth. Your turn," she introduced and I waved when she said my name.

"This is no game," Ikona, whose name I learned, accused.

"Alright, let's try another track. You claim that Emily was the only other person in the room when you found me," she tried.

"Oh, don't go on about this Doctor again," he complained.

"I have to," she argued.

"There was no one else other than the girl in the strange box. If he exists, he must have left you."

"No way! The Doctor wouldn't do that. Even more so since Emily is here," she defended.

"If he had any sense he would."

"It's not even up for discussion."

"Good, I shall enjoy the silence."

But since they were arguing, they didn't see the trap the he was about to walk into.

"Trap!" I yelled as I pointed to it.

"Watch out!" Mel yelled. She pulled him away in time as he trips the wire. There was an explosion and the bubble formed. It ascended into the sky and spun off to the side, exploding as it caught a rock. "Now will you accept that we're not your enemy?"

"We must hurry. The Tetraps will come to investigate," he informed. He untied Mel's hands.

"Oh, what made you think that we were in league with them?" Mel asked when she was freed.

"You're not Lakertyan. You don't belong on this planet."

"Then they're human, like us?"

"No, not like you. Although almost as hideous." He brushed himself off and moved off with us following.

We made our way across the rocky landscape when Mel stopped and clung to a boulder for support. I was a fairly tired too since I haven't slept for a few days.

 _To be honest, I'm surprised that I'm standing up. Though, I really hope when this is over I can have some food and sleep._ I stopped and waited for Mel to get back up.

"Hold on. I need a breather," she panted.

"We must keep moving," the Lakertyan told her.

"What happened the rest of your people? Won't they help?" I asked, giving Mel time to catch her breath.

"No, they've been completely subdued," he replied.

"We could at least try," Mel encouraged.

"They only one they'd listen to is Beyus, our leader."

"Well, let's go to him."

"He's the hostage I wanted to exchange you for. Ssshhh. Listen." Some rocks fell nearby. "Quickly!" he got up to run into the open.

"We can't go that way, it's completely exposed," Mel argued.

"For once, don't argue."

We ran hastily into the open and across a shallow patch of water. We came to rest inside a large pipe that was buried inside the rock face.

"Hopefully they'll think we doubled back to stay undercover," he hoped.

"Always providing they don't flush us out first," Mel said as she looked down the pipe. She slowly ventured towards the pipe exit but the Lakertyan was more cautious. I followed her, slowly, wanting to find the Doctor as well. "No one about. Come on."

"No! It's too soon," he argued.

"Not for me. I'm going to find the Doctor."

"If he's been captured, he's as good as dead."

"Yeah, I doubt that. I'm gonna go with Mel," I grinned. Mel went closer to the entrance of the pipe but still out of site. The Lakertyan and I followed close behind.

"All right, me and Emily will find him without you. One thing about the Doctor, you can't miss him in that outfit," Mel decided. She jumped up and moved out of the pipe. I followed as the Lakertyan made a move to stop us but failed.

The path that me and Mel took was quite treacherous but we were quite focused on our footing. We finally reached the bottom of the steep slope when I heard a noise behind us. Mel broke out into a run, obviously having heard the noise as well. I followed behind her and caught sight of it, a trap. Mel didn't see it as she continued to run towards it. I was too late to warn her as she triggered it. The bubble of energy had formed around her when I came to a stop. She started to scream as the bubble started to ascend into the sky with her spinning in it. It went up and over a cliff face and I lost sight of her. I ran off in the direction that the bubble went, Ikona after me. The bubble had made great distance before we caught up to it. When we reached it, the bubble was nestled on the edge of a body of water with Mel was still screaming. Ikona went over and kneeled by the bubble, examining the explosive component on the bottom before attempting to remove it.

"Help! Help me!" Mel screamed.

"Be quiet and don't move," he ordered.

"Just calm down, Mel. He needs to concentrate," I spoke in a calm manner.

"Have you…have you done this before?" she asked, trying to calm down.

"No, this is the first time, but Mel, if you don't stop squawking, it'll be the last," he warned.

He continued to try and remove the explosive component. He twisted and turned it as both me and Mel looked on anxiously. It finally came out and the bubble dissolved. Mel leaped and hugged Ikona out of gratitude. He hurled the explosive into the water and it exploded, tossing tons of water into the air. We continued on.

We once again continued on through the rocky landscape but more cautious this time, constantly on the lookout for danger.

"Any sign of the…what did you call it?" Mel asked.

"Tetraps," I answered.

"No, keep moving," he replied.

"Look, look, we're grateful for your help, but gratitude isn't going to turn us into puppets."

"I've already come to that painful conclusion."

"Well then, tell us, are we just running scared or are we heading for somewhere in particular?" I asked, curious.

"The answer to both questions is yes. Now can we go?" he asked.

He went up further and stopped at an incline that lead up to a gap in the cliff face. He indicated up to the gap and made his way up to the gap, leaving me and Mel at the bottom. Mel was starting to get nervous as she called up to him.

"Hurry, Ikona! Hurry!"

Suddenly a creature, covered in fur with a fat stomach, one eye on each side of its head and wings, jumped out from hiding. Ikona activated a device and it sort of released glittery sprinkles onto the creature, who I think might be a Tetrap. Anyway it distracted the creature and I pulled Mel away as we all quickly headed off.

We finally worked our way to where the Doctor might be. We squatted behind a rock to spy on the entrance where a Tetrap stood guard.

"That's where they set up headquarters," Ikona informed us as we observed the building.

"Well then, that's where the Doctor must be," I said, determined.

"You can't be sure."

"I can. You don't know the Doctor," Mel answered.

"If he's in there, I probably never will."

"There's no 'ifs' about it, he's in there," Mel replied.

"The Doctor and trouble go hand-in-hand. Where there is one, there is the other," I added. Mel nodded at that. I looked up when I noticed Mel staring at something on top of the cliff. It was like a rocket or something.

"Any idea what that central ramp's for?" Mel asked.

"No. all I know is that building it cost the lives of many Lakertyans," he replied sadly.

"Something must've gone wrong," I sadly added.

"The logic of that escapes me," Ikona said, befuddled.

"Well, they kidnapped the Doctor, and no one would do that unless they were desperate for his help. He's not exactly predictable," Mel clarified.

"Come on," he directed as we moved away.

As we turned around and started to walk off, a female Lakertyan came down the path.

"Wait here," Ikona directed. He gestured for us to stay out of sight as he went down to the Lakertyan.

"Faroon?" he asked the female Lakertyan. He pressed his palm against her's as a form of greeting.

"I'm glad to see you, Ikona, although I shouldn't be," Faroon greeted.

"Does sitting on opposite sides of the fence mean we still can't be friends?" he asked.

"I'm afraid it does when you cut yourself off from the rest of us and deliberately ignore Beyus' instructions," she replied.

"I can't accept he's right to collaborate."

"He is being held hostage. He has no choice. It's the only way that Beyus can save the rest of us from destruction." She moved towards us and Ikona seemed to try and hide the skeletal remains from her. Mel suddenly got up, starting Faroon. I followed at a slower pace.

"Well, he didn't save her, did he?" Mel pointed out.

"It's alright, Faroon, they're not with the Tetraps," he reassured her.

"You said 'her'?" Faroon asked.

"Yes. Well she was running away from something," Mel added.

 _I have a feeling this isn't something we should be talking about. With the way Ikona was trying to hide the Lakertyan skeleton from Faroon, meaning that she might know her personally._

"You saw what happened, too, Ikona?" she was greeted by silence. "You're not usually so reluctant to air your thoughts. From which direction did she come?" she asked Mel.

"Well, along there. It was as though she was escaping from the Tetrap headquarters."

"It was Sarn," Ikona reluctantly told Faroon.

Faroon turned as the truth finally hits her. She made her way down to the bones as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Who was Sarn?" I asked softly.

"The daughter of Beyus and Faroon," he answered quietly.

Mel went down the slope to join Faroon and I followed her, with Ikona following behind.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise," Mel apologised.

"I had to be told."

"There was nothing that could be done. She stepped on a trap," he sadly informed Faroon.

"Yet another victim. I must go to Beyus," she sighed and walked slowly away.

Mel turned to follow her and I had the same idea.

"Where are you two going?" Ikona asked.

"If Beyus is collaborating then he must be in the Tetrap headquarters and that's where the Doctor will be," Mel answered. I nodded my head at that, agreeing. Mel and I moved off and Ikona followed behind, loyally.

Faroon made her way to the entrance of the headquarters which was guarded by a Tetrap. We followed at a cautious distance. We crouched by some rocks and observed her and the Tetrap.

"You're still determined to get in?" Ikona asked.

"No matter what the risk," Mel replied.

"Madness. It must be contagious. I'll draw him off."

He ran off amongst the rocks, drawing the attention of the Tetrap on guard. The Tetrap followed after him in pursuit as me and Mel made our way inside the building.

Mel and I entered a room that looked like a laboratory. It was a large room with three doors in total, the one we came through, one on the other side and one at the back of the room which had a flight of stairs leading towards a sealed chamber. In the centre of the room was a control desk with a pyramid-shape pieces of equipment at each corner. There was a man working on one of them wearing checked trousers, white shirt, a pull-over with a question mark pattern and a cream jacket with a battered panama hat.

"Who are you?" Mel asked.

He looked up and advanced towards up and me and Mel backed off.

"You! Where's Mel? And give Emily back," he demanded.

"Where's the Doctor? And I'm not giving Emily to someone like you," Mel replied.

"I can speak for myself, you know," I muttered but stayed silent. This whole arguing thing amused me, for some reason.

"What have you done with her? Emily come here, please?" he asked.

I was about to replied but Mel bet me to it. "Stay away from us. What have you done with the Doctor?"

Mel managed to garb him by the arm and spun him off his feet and on to the floor. She restrained him by holding his arm behind his back.

"This is a little harsh, isn't it?" I asked as I watched on.

"Now we'll get the truth. What have you done with him, you brute?" she asked again.

"He's here!" he yelled.

"Uh, Mel, he might just be the Doctor," I suggested but I was ignored.

"Where? Under the carpet?" she sarcastically asked.

"Me, you washer woman! Me!"

"Never! You're nothing like him. If the Doctor's been harmed…" but the Doctor broke her hold and jumped up, grabbed hold of her and slung her over his shoulders, spinning her around in the air. "Help! Put me down!"

"Can you please put her down, Doctor?" I asked. He continued to spin her until finally returns her to the floor, leaving her fairly dizzy.

"Drop the melodramatics. Your pathetic impersonation doesn't fool me at all. Incidentally that wigs not you," he insulted.

While Mel was still dazed, he made to grab her hair and Mel cried out in pain. I sighed. Mel managed to escape from the Doctor's grip on her hair and ran around to the other side of the laboratory, protecting herself on the opposite side of the control desk. They each ran around the outside of the control desk, always trying to maintain equal distance from each other. The Benny Hill theme song popped into my head and I laughed silently to myself.

"I knew you weren't finished, Rani. I told Mel just as much," he told Mel.

"You told me?" she asked.

"No, Mel!" he corrected.

"I am Mel. Who's the Rani?" she asked.

"Try looking in the mirror at the face of evil."

"Uh, Doctor, she is Mel," I tried.

"I've had enough of this drivel," said Mel, getting annoyed.

"Alright, compromise. Let me feel your pulse," he compromised.

"Don't touch me!" Mel yelled.

"Ah, the proof of the pumpkins in the squeezing."

"Come on, Mel. Just do it. It will prove to you that he's the Doctor and it will prove to him that you're Mel," I exasperated.

"You don't even talk like the Doctor, you miserable fraud," she insulted.

"Mel, if he regenerated, which I'm guessing is what happened, of course he's going to talk different. I've met a version or two with different accents," I tried to reason.

"Let me feel your pulse. Or pulses, I should say. Two of them. One for each heart," he asked, sort of.

"You're a raving lunatic."

"Yes, perhaps I am, because if you're the Rani, I'm dicing with destruction."

"And if she's Mel?" I asked.

They both stopped moving around the console as the Doctor thought about it.

"Mel? The worst she'll do is give me carrot juice…carrot juice? What made me think of that?" he asked.

"Well, perhaps the real Doctor told you. It was his favourite drink," Mel suggested.

"Favourite? I hate it!"

"Oh," it caught Mel off guard.

"Ah, caught you out, haven't I?" he smirked.

"But if you're the real Doctor then, why'd you look like that?" Mel asked.

"I've regenerated and I'm suffering from post-regenerative amnesia, as far as I can remember. Fair exchange is no mockery. You feel my pulses, I'll feel yours. I'll lean across here with my arm behind my back if you want proof I'm a Time Lord. Come on," he suggested, leaning over the control desk with his arm behind his back. Mel moved cautiously to inspect his wrist.

"A double pulse! Then you really are the Doctor," Mel said happily.

"Told you," I muttered. The Doctor must've heard it because he grinned in my direction before focusing on Mel.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. Now yours," he checked her wrists for a double pulse.

"I know about regeneration, of course," Mel said as the Doctor checked both her wrists.

"Mel?" he asked, finding only one pulse. Mel moved over to join the Doctor and I followed.

"But you're completely different. Nothing like you were. Face. Height. Hair. Everything's changed," Mel inspected him.

"Yes. And I've become more of a fool too, it seems, Emily, Mel. Doesn't bode well for my Seventh Persona being so completely taken in by the wretched Rani."

"The Rani? Is that who hijacked the Tardis?" Mel asked. He nodded.

"But what does she want with me?" he asked.

"Doctor, how come you didn't recognise Mel but you did with me?" I asked.

"Simple, how could I possibly forget my wife," he replied casually.

"W-wife? Just how far back did you marry me?" I spluttered.

"How could I have been so stupid? You're not married yet, are you?" he asked but he already knew the answer. I shook my head and he nodded sadly.

We walked over to the control desk and watched the viewing screen as it showed an asteroid.

"Strange Matter!" the Doctor identified.

"What?" I asked.

"Never heard of it," Mel added.

"You should have, Mel. A Princeton physicist discovered it on your Earth in the 1984," he informed us.

"Computers are my speciality, not Nuclear Physics," Mel replied.

"And I'm more interested in Sci-fi and things not from Earth," I added.

"It's an incredibly dense form of matter. A lump the size of this would weigh more than your planet Earth."

"Well, what could the Rani's interest be?" Mel asked.

"An astute question. If that asteroid exploded, it would send off a blast of gamma rays equivalent to a supernova."

"Then it would be goodbye Lakertya," I sadly worked out.

The Doctor turned the monitor off and led Mel to the back of the room. "And everything else in this corner of the galaxy. When the Rani dabbles, she dabbles on a grand scale." He gave Mel the stethoscope and pointed up to the locked door. "Here. Go and listen."

Mel went up the stairs and put the stethoscope against the door.

"It's weird. It's like a giant heartbeat. Do you want to listen, Emily?" she asked me.

"No thanks, I'm fine," I declined.

"Yes. But why, Mel? Why? What is she up to?" he pondered the laboratory and his attention was drawn to the left side door. "It starts here." He moved closer to the door and both me and Mel joined him.

"Oh forget it, Doctor. Let's hightail it back to the Tardis and get out of her," Mel suggested.

"And leave the poor Lakertyans to the Rani?" I asked.

"As Emily said, leave the Lakertyans to the machinations of the Rani. Impossible! Given time I'll work out the combination."

"953," came a voice from the other side of the door.

"Did you hear a voice or am I hallucinating?" the Doctor asked.

"No, I heard it as well," I answered.

"953," the voice said again.

"Well go on, quick. 953," Mel said.

"Who'd have thought she'd been so obvious. That's my age. And the Rani's," the Doctor said.

"Damn, that's a high number," I muttered as I watched him enter the code. The door slid open to reveal Faroon and a male Lakertyan, who I'm guessing is Beyus. The Doctor gestured for me and Mel to go through.

On the other side, there was cabinets that contained various geniuses. Mel started to read out the names which were on top of the cabinets.

"Hypatia. Einstein!"

"Names which are meaningless to us," Beyus commented.

"Geniuses every one of them. The Rani's collected together the most creative and the most powerful matter in the universe," the Doctor clarified.

"She's a murderess. Sarn was not her first victim, there have been many," Faroon told us.

"The scope of her imagination is breathtaking," the Doctor said with fascination.

"You sound as though you admire her," Beyus pointed out.

"Not admiration. Fascination. And sadness. If only the Rani could have redirected her incredible talents for good."

I looked around and I noticed another cabinet, the only difference was that this one was empty. I looked up at the name who it was supposed for and called for the Doctor.

"Doctor, she's reserved one for you." He came over to see for himself and gave my hand a quick squeeze. The others came over have a look, as well.

"What is it that I can contribute that these other geniuses can't?" the Doctor asked.

"You're a Time Lord," Mel pointed out.

"With a unique conceptual understanding of the properties of time," he muttered.

He rushed back to the laboratory and I followed. He looked at the information on the machine that leads to the sealed door at the back of the room. Mel and Beyus entered and watched him as Faroon remained in the doorway.

"Do you know what's behind that door?" the Doctor asked Beyus.

"I've never been permitted to see," he replied.

"Pity. Beyus? Why have you…assisted?"

"Collaborated is the word that you are avoiding, Doctor. I've not choice."

The Doctor activated the desk screen but was distracted by as Faroon ran into the room and closed the door behind her.

"She's coming!" Faroon yelled.

"Take Mel!" he yelled.

"I'll take her with me," Faroon replied.

"But Doctor, what about Emily?" Mel asked.

"She can stay with me. Go Mel!" he told her. "Emily, I need you to pretend that the Rani is Mel and that you haven't met Mel yet." I nodded.

Beyus, Faroon and Mel hastily left the laboratory through the right side door. The Doctor returned to the machine and I followed. The Rani entered through the left door, dressed as Mel. She went to the desk and noticed that the monitor had been left on. She turned it off and came over to join us. She noticed me and gave me a quick glare. I pretended to give her a confused look.

"Oh yes, yes. Let me see. Polyethersulphone. Excellent. How clever you are, Mel. Where did you find is?" he asked.

"In the store room. Doctor, why was the monitor on and when did Emily get here?" she asked.

"On, is it? Oh yes, I was trying to jog my memory. No luck though. Emily only just got here. Also, Emily, this is Mel, my companion. Hold the other end, Mel."

The Rani/Mel appeared relieved that to think that I had only just got here and that I've never met Mel before. Sucker. I moved to sit on the desk as she held the other end of the plastic and they both tried position the plastic sheet into the machine.

"You're not concentrating, Mel. Hold it steady. We've got to manoeuvre it into position," the Doctor told the Rani/Mel. They finally managed to get it into position.

"Quite adept at manoeuvring, aren't you, Doctor," she complimented, which sounded slightly like flirting.

"Well, where there's a will, there's a Tom, Dick and Harriet," he replied.

They moved over to the desk where I was sitting.

"Do I take it the machine is now operational?" she asked.

"Oh no, no. There's certain information I simply must have before I make the final delicate adjustments," the Doctor explained.

"Such as?" she asked.

He gesture to the back of the room. "Ideally, what's behind that door?"

"Less ideally?" she asked.

He stuck his fingers in the liquid on top of one of the pyramid shaped machines. I went over to him as I had a feeling that this ruse won't last much longer. "The identity of this rather interesting substance?"

"The information's essential, is it?"

"Crucial."

"So if I told you its chemical composition. I could do that." she leaned over the control desk and pushed a button. The lighting in the room dimmed and started to pulsate and the machines whirled and pump into action. I started to feel uneasy and so did the Doctor, by the looks of it.

"You know, don't you?" she asked the both of us. With little hesitation, the Rani pulled off her wig of red curls to reveal her own long brunette hair pined up. She unpinned her hair. "But your usefulness us not yet over. You have another role to play."

The Doctor gestured to the right door and the Rani looked. He tied his scarf around her and pushed her down to the control desk.

"Dratted man," the Rani muttered.

The Doctor grabbed my hand as we ran from the room. We ran past Beyus as he was attending to the cabinet controls. The Doctor opened the grill to the Tetrap Eyrie and allowed me to enter first before following. It wasn't much of a room since it was dark and Tetraps were hanging from the ceiling like bats. The Doctor pulled me over to a rock to hide behind as the Rani opened up the grill and had a look inside from the entrance. She gave up and left, closing the grill behind her. The Doctor stood up and pulled me along behind him, trying to find another exit. Before we could have a good look, a group of Tetraps encircle us, with their forked tongues sticking out.

"I say. I mean, we may not see eye to eye. Try and see it my way! I'm trying not to be personal. I mean, after all, a bat may look at a Time Lord," he tried.

There was a clunk that sounded near the entrance. I turned and saw Beyus there, and he pulled a metal chain which released blood plasma.

"Doctor! Emily! Hurry!" he called.

The Doctor leaped across the tube that was delivering the plasma to the trough. He helped me across which was completely unnecessary, although I did nearly slip, nearly is the key word, as the Doctor was supporting me by my arms. He flashed me a quick grin when I nearly fell, which I semi glared at. We all exit the eyrie and shut the grill behind us as the Tetraps feasted from the trough.

The Doctor and Beyus attempted to share a greeting with each other via their own ways, the Doctor the human way and Beyus the Lakertyan way. Which they failed at, so they gave up. I got a good silent laugh out of it. The Doctor grabbed my hand and started to run down the corridor when Beyus called out.

"No, you'll have to go out through the laboratory. The Rani went that way."

The Doctor pulled me back with him as we exited through the laboratory.

"Mistress Rani?" called a Tetrap.

The Doctor ran back with a desperate look on his face as we had nowhere to run.

I can't say that this was the best hiding spot we could've thought of. I mean, the Doctor laying down in his 'personal' cabinet. And me, I was squished down on the side of it, out of view. Although from my position, I did have a view of what was happening outside of the cabinet. The Tetrap that we heard in the laboratory came out and demanded answers from Beyus.

"You, Lakertyan. Have you seen the Mistress? Well quickly, answer!"

"She went into the grounds," Beyus responded, calmly.

"Oh, out of my way. The Mistress has profound insight but I think she is mistaken to rely on any of your worthless race," the Tetrap insulted.

The Tetrap pushed his way past Beyus to move down the corridor. Once the coast was clear, Beyus opened the door to the cabinet and the Doctor jumped out. I tried to get out myself but I got stuck. The Doctor grinned at my misfortune but helped me out nonetheless.

"I can't say I share the Rani's taste in pets," the Doctor stated once I was freed.

"The Tetraps are nobody's pets and you'd be wise not to forget it."

"This is what I'll never forget. Unique talent every one of them. The Rani's roamed the universe plucking these geniuses out of time, at the height of their powers and reduced them to the status of laboratory specimens."

"Doctor, please hurry."

"Time, the concept of time. That's at the heart of what she's up to. Otherwise why reserve a place for me. A Time Lord in this abysmal parade," the Doctor pondered.

"If your still here when she gets back, you'll find out from inside the cabinet," Beyus hurried.

"Which you will help her put me in," the Doctor countered.

"If she catches you, yes."

"You know, Beyus, your collaboration with the Rani's difficult to understand."

"My people are under threat. If you manage to escape, go to the Centre of Leisure. You will find the reason there. Now hurry Doctor, Emily." He ushered us from the corridor and through the laboratory.

We moved across the laboratory and stopped at the control desk.

"Be careful, you two. The grounds outside are a minefield of traps," Beyus warned.

"I know, trust me," I muttered under my breath.

"Nothing outside compared to this." The Doctor activated the monitor screen displaying the asteroid spinning in space.

"A harmless asteroid?" he questioned.

"It's composed of strange matter, Beyus. A devastating force. With the right trigger, that harmless asteroid, as you call it, could incinerate your planet. And anything else in this corner of the galaxy. And what does the Rani keep behind there?" the Doctor gestured to the sealed door. "Oh, all good things come to a bend."

The Doctor moved down to the repaired pyramid machine and removed a component. The result is the lights returning to full beam and the machine operation halting. The Doctor returned to where Beyus and I were.

"Micro-thermistor, I doubt if she'll have a spare," the Doctor commented.

"She won't need one, you're going to give it back. Give it to me," Beyus ordered.

The Doctor shook his head and Beyus tried to get the component back from him. They struggled with one another until Beyus gained possession of the component. He moved to return it to the machine when the Doctor tripped him up with his discarded umbrella. I now have an idea about what his rainbow jacket might have looked like if that was his umbrella. Beyus fell to the ground dazed. The Doctor took the component from him.

"I had no intention of hurting you."

"Beyus!" the Rani called from the corridor.

The Doctor jumped up and grabbed my hand. We hastily retreated through the right door before the Rani entered the room.

The Doctor pulled me along through the rocks but stopped, causing me to run into his back.

"Stop! Don't take another step," said a voice behind a rock.

"Here's a turn up for a cook. A rock that talks," the Doctor commented.

Ikona appeared from behind a rock in the cliff face ahead of us.

"You must be the Doctor. I've met your companion, Mel."

"Don't hold that against me," the Doctor grumbled.

"I see where she gets her sense of humour from. And you're gonna need it," Ikona mentioned.

"That bad?"

"Look down." Both the Doctor and I looked down at his feet and saw a tripwire just over his foot.

"Now step back very slowly," Ikona directed.

The Doctor slowly lifted his foot away from under the wire. As soon as he did so, a Tetrap appeared behind him.

"Hello. Haven't I seen you hanging around somewhere?" the Doctor asked the Tetrap.

Ikona fired on of the fireworks to distract the Tetrap. The Doctor shoved the Tetrap aside. Its foot knocked the tripwire. There was an explosion and the bubble formed around the Tetrap. The bubble went up into the air, higher and higher until it knocks into the cliff face causing the bubble to explode, ending the Tetrap's life. The Doctor placed his hat on his chest in respect and I bowed my head.

The three of us made our way over some stepping stones across a small stream that lead to the entrance to the Centre of Leisure. Other Lakertyans made their way in and out of the Centre. They kiss a large rock by the entrance.

"No restrictions for movement. The Lakertyans can come and go freely," the Doctor observed.

"Provided they obey the instructions of Beyus and don't try and get into the laboratory," Ikona entered, kissing the rock with his hand. The Doctor imitates him and entered, me following close after, doing the same.

The Centre of Leisure was a large, brightly lit room containing pools of water, comfortable seating area and decorative ornaments. I could hear some sort of music being played but I couldn't put my finger on what style it was. I would describe the room as pretty if it wasn't for the large weird spinning globe. I stood next to the Doctor as the three of us overlooked the relaxing Lakertyans from the balcony.

"The Centre of Leisure. The Centre of Indolence," Ikona insulted.

"Not a favourite haunt of your, I take it, Ikona?" the Doctor asked.

"No. I can't imagine why Beyus told you to come to this place."

"He said I'd find the answer to his subservience here."

"From these spineless pleasure seekers?" Ikona asked.

"Why not?" I asked, curious.

"It would require effort, that's why. They've become spoon-fed drones. There's no reason for them to strive. An indulgent system provides all. Well, didn't Beyus give you an idea as to what to look for?"

We made our way down the stairs to the main area as the Doctor spoke.

"He was too anxious for explanations. But whatever the threat, it must be considerable. Do you see anything that's different? New?"

Ikona gestured to the spinning globe. "Only that. Another pointless embellishment."

"I wonder. Couldn't we ask someone?" the Doctor suggested.

"We'll be interrupting their pleasure," he ridiculed.

We moved over to where a Lakertyan was having a conversation with another.

"Could you tell me what that globe's for?" Ikona asked them. They just stared blankly back at him. "I did warn you," he told us.

"There's none so deaf as those that clutch at straws," the Doctor responded.

"If you say so. Lanisha!" Ikona called to a Lakertyan on the other side of the room. We all went over to greet him. Lanisha and Ikona do the whole pressing palms against one another greeting.

"Ikona," Lanisha greeted.

"Lanisha. Can you tell me what that globe's for?" Ikona asked.

"We've been forbidden to have anything to do with you, Ikona," he explained.

"You'd ignore your own brother?"

"I obey the orders of Beyus."

Not even a moment later, the compartments in the globe open, releasing some sort of insects. The Lakertyans start to run for their lives, but not all of them were quick enough as a Lakertyan was struck down by the insect's bite.

"Look out, they kill!" a Lakertyan called.

The Doctor bent down over the corpse to examine it and I followed but Ikona grabbed us by the arms and lead us away to escape the insects.

"Killer insects! Come on, Doctor, Emily," Ikona called.

We managed to escape upstairs as more Lakertyans were struck down. Sadly, Lanisha was another unfortunate victim. Ikona cradled his brother in his arms and tried to get some sort of a response from him but unable to. The Doctor and I moved to his side and Faroon entered amongst the chaos.

"Do you still insist that Beyus should not count the cost of resistance, Ikona? If every cell in the globe were opened, there wouldn't be a Lakertyan left alive," she informed.

"Erm, killer insects?" the Doctor questioned.

"Doctor, I have a message for you."

The Doctor, Ikona and I stood across Mel and a Tetrap in the valley. Mel waved at us and I waved back. The Doctor gestured for Ikona to go and place the machine component in the middle of the valley.

"Let Mel come towards me. I've kept my side of the bargain. You've got what you want," the Doctor called to the Tetrap.

Ikona left the component on a rocky boulder and moved away. The Tetrap gestured for Mel to come over to us.

"So stupid. You are not a worthy opponent for the Rani," the Tetrap insulted. The Tetrap left with the component in his hand.

"What's he crowing about, Mel?" the Doctor asked as Mel walked over. The Doctor opened his arms, ready to give her a hug when she walked through him before vanishing.

"A hologram?" I asked, confused.

"A hologram!" the Doctor yelled, frustrated. "As substantial as the Rani's scruples." He threw his hat to the ground in frustration. I picked it up and dusted it off as the Doctor stormed off, followed by a confused Ikona. I gave his hat back when I caught up to him. He managed to make fair distance before I caught up, despite him being only a few inches taller than my 5'3'' frame. We continued to make our way to the Rani's base, at least, I think that is where we are going.

"Doctor, in my opinion, returning to the laboratory is a pointless exercise. I've a feeling Mel's beyond all help," Ikona commented.

"We don't leave any friend behind," I defended.

"Oh the Rani would never go to those extremes. She never does anything without reason," the Doctor mentioned.

"Then why the hologram? Why didn't she just release Mel?" Ikona asked.

"A bird in the hand keeps the Doctor away."

"You're probably right."

"Except it has the opposite effect of you, Doctor," I teased. He grinned at me and we continued to walk to the base.

We eventually got to the base and managed to conceal our position to observe the exterior of the Citadel. The Doctor noticed the rocket launcher that was built into the roof.

"A space rocket launcher sure enough. But have you noticed it's got a fixed trajectory?" the Doctor asked.

"No doubt it'll still play havoc with our planet," said Ikona.

"Maybe it's a side effect, Ikona, but not the intention. I'd say the target us the asteroid of strange matter, which means the launcher is locked into a precise time."

"Could it be the Solstice that's due."

"Assuming it is, the Rani's overriding priority will be to meet that countdown. No more setbacks or delays. I've got to get back to the laboratory. That sealed chamber. I've got to get there. Out of the frying pan and into the mire. Right, Ikona, start the diversionary tactics."

"Have a care, Doctor, Emily. This bluff worked once. The Tetraps might not fall for it again," Ikona warned. He ran off and is quickly spotted by a Tetrap who chased after him. The Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me after him after he found an opportunity. As soon as we got to the entrance, two Tetraps suddenly appeared, trapping us.

"We have been expecting you, Doctor," the Tetrap informed as he and the other Tetrap stuck their tongues out at us. They struck us with their tongues and that was the last thing I saw before blackness.

When I came to, I was standing in front of Mel and Beyus, with the Doctor's rigid form on his cabinet bed. Mel gave me a hug as the Tetrap ordered Beyus.

"You, Lakertyan. Connect this specimen to the main input."

"No, leave him alone. I won't let you do…" Mel demanded.

"You have no choice," Beyus interrupted. The Tetrap went into the laboratory, leaving Beyus, Mel and me with the prone Doctor. "Now listen to me. They are completely without conscience. They will not hesitate to kill."

The Doctor's bed receded into the cabinet once he was place in the correct position and the head piece was attached. The door closed, sealing him inside still unconscious.

"Set the temperature gage, Mel," Beyus asked.

"I'm setting nothing," she stubbornly refused.

"Stubbornness will not help the Doctor."

"And putting him in there will?! That's some twisted philosophy if you like."

The Rani entered the corridor. "How far have you got?"

"I need to realign the final calibrations before he can be connected to the main input," Beyus reported.

"Make certain that the levels are kept stable."

"If you're hoping for any positive results, you're going to be disappointed. The Doctor won't collaborate," Mel said with confidence.

"I'm sure, were he able, he'd express his appreciation of such unstinted confidence. As soon as the activity indicator reaches 8.15, increase the stimulation," she ordered Beyus.

The Rani left and went back into the laboratory and Beyus continued with his work. Mel gestured with her head into the room and I nodded. We both waited for Beyus' attention to be diverted before moving into the room. When we got into the laboratory, I noticed that the sealed door was open and pointed it out to Mel. We went up the stairs and entered the room. The first thing I saw was a large pulsating brain in the centre of the room.

"To reproduce the Leptonic Era temperature of 10 to the power of 12K, it will be essential to create a cataclysmic explosion, the equivalent of a supernova," said a voice from the brain.

The Rani appeared and grabbed hold of both me and Mel.

"Is this what you're looking for?" she asked the brain.

"Our time dilation is not in question. Our understanding of time is still at a primitive stage," the brain reported.

"It won't be once the Doctor has added his contribution."

The Rani dragged both of us back into the corridor where Beyus was waiting.

"Beyus?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Is the Doctor connected to the main input?"

"Everything is ready," Beyus reported.

"Then switch on!" she ordered.

"No, Beyus! For once don't do as she says," Mel pleaded.

Mel ended up being restrained by the Tetrap that seems to follow the Rani everywhere. The Rani handed me off to the Tetrap as well. Beyus activated the Doctor's cabinet and it throbbed to life.

"The Doctor's wellbeing is in your hands now. Remember that," the Rani warned. She returned into the laboratory and I'm guessing into the now unsealed room with the brain. Both Mel and I were still being held tightly by the Tetrap. Mel screamed as the Doctor's brain was being drained into the headset and into the large brain. A few tears slipped down my face as I watched silently.

"You Lakertyan, you will be responsible for these creatures' behaviour," the Tetrap ordered. He released us and pushed us into the Doctor's cabinet. The Tetrap entered the laboratory.

A few moments later, a handful Tetraps passed us, one with some sort of case. Once they left, we returned our attention back to the Doctor.

"She might think she's harnessed the brain of a Time Lord but she's reckoned without one thing?" Mel stated.

"And what's that?" Beyus asked.

"The Doctor's character."

Beyus left, unconvinced and Mel looked saddened. I looked at the Doctor and I could see his mouth moving very fast. I smiled, the first time since he was brought in.

Sometime later, the Rani made her way quickly into the room and confronted Mel. I could hear some voices from the room she just left but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Quickly, disconnect the Doctor. The fool has induced multiple schizophrenia," the Rani demanded. I smiled as I heard what the Doctor did. Of course he would do that.

"Congratulations. You brought us here," said Mel.

"And I shall dispose of you two. This will rid me of the three of you."

She moved away from us, foolishly leaving her back towards us. The Rani tried to remove some capsules from her wristband. I opened the Doctor's cabinet and he jumped out. He made a grab for the Rani.

"Quickly, Mel. Don't just stand there, help me!" he shouted.

"Let go of me, you interfering maniac," the Rani demanded.

The Doctor and Mel shoved the Rani into the Doctor's cabinet and I shut the door, ignoring her protests.

"Give her a taste of her own medicine, shall I switch it on?" Mel asked.

"No, Mel," I shook my head.

"Two wrongs don't make a left turn. Right," the Doctor corrected himself. He ran off into the laboratory, followed by me and Mel close behind. The Rani was left locked up, banging on the inside of the cabinet.

We entered the room with the brain and the Doctor stared at the brain.

"Doctor, before this regeneration you were keen on cats and you know what curiosity did to them," Mel mentioned.

"Leave the quotes to the expert, Mel," the Doctor told her.

"So not you then, Doctor," I nudged him, grinning. He smiled back then focused his attention back on the rocket launcher. He moved along a metal gantry to see the underside of the rocket launcher. I followed behind with Mel.

"The rocket! It's a fixed trajectory," the Doctor informed us.

"It isn't all that'll be fixed if we don't get out of here," Mel mentioned.

The Doctor made his way to the back of the brain, Mel and I still following.

"So the target is the asteroid which at any moment now will reach the solstice and I'm sure that's the deadline. He who dare spins."

The Doctor recklessly activated a control under the monitor screen situated off the circular gantry around the brain. The screen comes to life and showed a large explosion in space.

"Whoops. A supernova," the Doctor said sheepishly.

We watched the video of the supernova when the Doctor commented. "Do you realise how close the Rani must have taken her Tardis in order to record that."

"All I realise is that we've seen what she intends to happen to Lakertya. Can she do it?" Mel asked.

The Doctor started to pace around the gantry. "Not by my reckoning. The only known detonator for exploding strange matter asteroid is strange matter itself."

"You said that strange matter was incredibly heavy," I recalled.

"A lump the size of this brain would weigh as much as an entire planet," the Doctor calculated.

"Well, could she be using the brain to come up with a formula for…" Mel started.

"…for a lightweight substitute. Could be. Could be," the Doctor finished.

"Well then, haven't we come up with the answer?" Mel asked.

"No, not completely. What I can't fathom is why the Rani took such an incredible risk to record a supernova."

"To discover how to reconstruct the same event."

"No, more than that. She wouldn't be simply interested in a display of pyrotechnics, too negative. No there's a deeper motive and the answer is in here." He hit his forehead in frustration. I place my hand between his hand and forehead so he hit my hand instead. Once the Doctor realised that he wasn't hitting his head, he grabbed the hand. He gave the side he hit a quick kiss then let go of my hand. Thankfully he didn't see my blush.

"Well, calm down. Let's apply a bit of logic shall we. What is it that you can contribute that those other geniuses can't?" Mel asked.

"A knowledge of time. Oh great discovery. I worked that out ages ago."

The discussion would've continued further except that the Rani entered the room, obviously been freed by Beyus.

"So now you know," she said.

"Not the complete story. The last chapter's missing," the Doctor told her.

We all stood around, watching the brain.

"Keeping quiet, isn't it," the Doctor stated, referring to the brain.

"Perhaps, unlike you, it only speaks when it has something intelligent to say," the Rani insulted.

"Possibly. On the other hand it's probably wondering why you want helium 2. That's why you want to explode strange matter isn't it! To reproduce Helium 2."

"The last chapter, Doctor. The denouement." She pushed past hi and moved to the display screen on the wall. She activated the control and the screen showed the planet Lakertya hanging in space. "In the aftermath of the explosion, helium 2 will fuse with the upper zones of the Lakertyan atmosphere to form a shell of chronons. I don't need to tell you want chronons are, do I, Doctor?"

"Indeed you don't. Discrete particles of time," he told the last bit to me and Mel.

"In the same millisecond that chronon shell is being formed, the hothouse effect of the gamma rays will cause the primate cortex of the brain to go into chain reaction, multiplying until the gap between shell and planet is filled."

"A time manipulator?! You're going to change this planet into a time manipulator?!"

"A cerebral mass capable of dominating and controlling time anywhere in the cosmos."

"I don't believe it. A time manip… this monstrosity will give you the ability to change the order of creation."

"Creation's chaotic. I shall introduce order. Wherever evolution has taken the wrong route, I shall redirect it. That planet you're so obsessed with, Earth, I shall return to the cretaceous age," said the Rani.

"The cretaceous age?" I repeated.

"The potential of the dinosaurs was never fully reached," she said offhandedly.

"That means Shakespeare, Michael Angelo, Louis Pasteur, Elvis, even Mrs Malaprop will have never existed," the Doctor warned.

"Your concern for these minions is pathetic. They're an inferior species," she insulted.

"Thrust into the oblivion," the Doctor told her.

"Why not?" she asked.

"The same with the Lakertya. All life on this planet will become extinct."

"An unfortunate side effect."

"All living creatures left behind will be exterminated."

"Of which you, Doctor, will be one."

"While you float off safely in your Tardis."

"Oh I shall be back, once the turbulence has subsided," the Rani said casually.

"Before I thought you were a psychopath without murderous intent. I withdraw the qualification," said the Doctor.

The discussion would have continued longer except it was interrupted by the computer voice of the brain.

"Eighty seven K to the power of nineteen E correlated with fifty two to the power of six point four equals twenty nine V…"

"Thirty nine," the Doctor corrected. The Doctor, realising his stupidity in giving away the answer, chewed him hand. I gave him a light wack on the back of his head.

"Correction is noted. Thirty nine V plus W…eureka! Objective achieved! Loyhargi!" said the brain.

The Doctor grabbed my hand and we back towards the door with Mel while the Rani was distracted. We made our way back to the laboratory and the Doctor closed the door, shutting the rani inside. We move away when Mel called out.

"Doctor!" she tripped as she backed away.

The Doctor, being the idiot he is, picked up his umbrella and pointed it at the Tetrap, as if it was a weapon. "Stay back."

I looked around, trying to find something that I could use as a weapon, found that the Tetrap left his gun on the control desk. I picked it up and managed to fire it at its owner. A net fell on him and he fell to the ground, the net stunning him into unconsciousness. The Doctor looked at his umbrella, assuming that he made stunned the Tetrap. I rolled my eyes at him.

"As you snore so shall you sleep," quoted the Doctor.

"I'm pretty sure it's meant to be, 'as you sow, so shall you reap', Doctor," I corrected. He just shrugged at me.

"Doctor! Emily!" Mel yelled. She ran out into the corridor, leaving the Doctor and me behind. The Doctor picked up his scarf from earlier from the control desk.

"Waste net, want net."

"What?" I asked.

But I didn't get an answer as Mel called out from the corridor, "Come on!"

The Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind him as we ran from the laboratory and nearly colliding into Beyus if I hadn't pulled him back in time. We continued on and the Doctor, Mel and I quickly made our way out of the Citadel and we quickly found Ikona.

"About turn, Ikona," Mel told him.

"Doctor, I've got to talk to you," he tried.

"And so you shall. You have a big part to play, Ikona. You must stir up the Lakertyans into fighting back. Come, quickly," the Doctor hurried.

We all continued to race off to the Centre of Leisure.

We entered the main chamber of the Centre of Leisure where a large group of Lakertyans were gathered around, wearing some sort of ankle bands.

"Unless you can tell them how to remove these bangles, they can't help," Ikona explained.

"Erm?" the Doctor asked, confused. He leant down next to Faroon to examine the ankle band Ikona was talking about. I knelt next to him to get a look as Ikona and Mel surround her.

"You've got to give the Rani full marks for ingenuity," the Doctor commented.

"Perhaps if we're careful we can cut them," Ikona suggested.

"Oh, that's a draft idea. They're bound to be booby trapped," Mel shot down.

"Less of the pessimism, Mel. Not all the cards are in the Rani's flavour," the Doctor misquoted.

"Favour, Doctor. 'Not all the cards are in the Rani's favour,'" I corrected.

He smiled at me and then focused on the ankle band. He pulled a small penknife from his jacket and tentatively picked off a metal cap on the ankle band, displaying the circuit inside. He then replace the knife back into his pocket.

"Now, if we were to run a wire from here around to here, then the circuit wouldn't be broken when the bangle from open, Mel. You're the computer expert. How about it?"

"Where am I going to find the right sort of wire?" Mel asked.

The Doctor started to go through his pockets when Ikona went over to an ornament that had some sort of wires sticking out of it. He pulled some wires from it and came back over.

"Where there is a will, there's a…"

"Beneficiary. Good thinking, Ikona," the Doctor thanked.

"Way," I corrected under my breath. If I had been paying more attention to the Doctor's face, I would've seen a small smirk.

Mel took a wire and inserted one end on the opening clip and ran the wire around the back to the circuit. Mel opened the band and I let out a sigh of relief as she didn't die. The Doctor stood up and I followed.

"Well done, Mel. Ikona, I'm relying on you to help the Lakertyans help themselves for once. Remove the bangles."

"Right."

The Doctor place the band inside his umbrella and handed that to Ikona who left with Mel. Faroon grabbed the Doctor's arm to speak with him.

"Doctor, haven't you overlooked something. If the Rani releases the insects, we'll all be dead."

"She's not the only one with a sting in her tail," the Doctor told her.

"Sting?" she questioned.

"Sting! A double bluff. A speciality of mine."

The Doctor led me and Faroon away as we prepare to leave for the Rani's Citadel. Mel and Ikona continue to remove the ankle bands from the remaining Lakertyans.

Faroon entered the corridor where Beyus was monitoring the geniuses. She beckoned to us once it was safe to enter. The Doctor, Mel, Ikona and I entered the room.

"Doctor!" Faroon called to him.

"Faroon, you were warned not to listen to him," Beyus scolded her.

"When that voice reaches zero, there'll be nobody left on Lakertya to listen to me or anyone else," the Doctor warned.

"He's speaking the truth," Faroon supported the Doctor.

"What is it you want me to do?" Beyus gave in.

"First see if there's anyone in there," the Doctor pointed at the laboratory.

Beyus went into the lab and the Doctor moved down the corridor and I followed, passing Mel on the way. Faroon followed Beyus into the lab.

"Mel, all hands on stumps," the Doctor misquoted, again.

"Pumps!" Mel corrected.

"I thought the quote was, 'All hands on deck'?" I thought aloud. But I was ignored.

The Doctor opened a cabinet labelled Louis Pasteur. Pasteur started to come around to his senses. Ikona came over and joined us.

"Ikona, take good care of him," the Doctor directed.

"He's someone important?" Ikona asked.

"They all are. Louis Pasteur, he will rid his world of a major scourge. He will save the lives of tens of millions."

The Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me over as he joined Mel as she opened Einstein's cabinet. He starts to exit somewhat bewildered. Faroon came from the laboratory.

"Doctor! Come through!"

The Doctor, still holding my hand, followed Faroon but then ran back, handing the Tardis key over to Mel.

"I don't appreciate being dragged around, Doctor. Hand grabbing, yes. Being yanked around like a doll when you suddenly forget to do something, not so much," I grumbled to him.

He looked down at our joined hands and back at me. "Whoops," he apologised, sheepishly. He then remembered what he was back here again for. "Ohh. Take them back to the Tardis."

"Doctor!" Ikona called. He gave the Doctor back his umbrella that had all the ankle bands.

"Thank you, Ikona."

Ikona left to go release more geniuses as the Doctor pulled me more carefully into the brain room. The Doctor, Faroon and I run into the room, greeting Beyus. Beyus held the Doctor's umbrella as the Doctor passed the bands to Faroon. Both he and Faroon carefully place the bands around the perimeter as I watched. The Doctor went over to the controls and started to tamper with the circuits. The computer continued to count closer to zero as Mel raced into the room.

"Doctor, we haven't a second to spare."

"Mel's right, Doctor. I can finish here. You're the only one who can tackle the Rani," Beyus agreed.

"Don't leave it too late, Beyus," the Doctor warned.

"I know what I have to do."

"Doctor, Emily, come on," Mel hurried. She left as Faroon hesitated on leaving Beyus.

"Go with them, Faroon," Beyus encourage, sensing her hesitancy.

"But can I wait with you, Beyus?"

"You've rarely questioned my actions before, this is not the time to begin."

The Doctor guided Faroon out of the room and into the lab. I followed, leaving Beyus. We ran down the stairs from the brain room. The Doctor beckons Mel to go with Faroon. He was going to do the same with me but I just grabbed his hand before he said anything. He grinned and opened a cupboard in the control desk and removed a container before running out, pulling me along. We exited the building, but instead of heading towards where the Tardis was, he pulled my along in a different direction.

"Doctor, isn't the Tardis in a different direction?" I asked as we continue to run.

"Yes, but our Tardis isn't where we are heading. It's the Rani's Tardis we are heading for," he explained. I nodded as I tried to keep up with his pace.

After a fair bit of running, we finally reached where the Rani kept her Tardis, disguised kind of like one of those pyramid machines. Sort of. Anyway, we stood on top of a boulder, looking down at the Rani outside her Tardis.

"Rani! Its over! You've been beaten! I've aborted the launch and the Lakertyans are preparing to attack," he yelled down to her.

"You imbecile! You've signed their death warrants!" she yelled before doing something on her wristband.

I looked around and I saw that the rocket had been launched. The Rani looked satisfied, at least, that's what it looked like from up here. I didn't get a really good look as I was more startled by the Citadel exploding. The Doctor started to make his way down the rocks over to the Rani, helping me down as well. That was, until she ran into her Tardis and dematerialised. We watched and the Doctor sighed as we moved off to join the others.

We ran up to join the others who were waiting outside the Tardis. Mel, Ikona and Faroon were with the other Lakertyans.

"The delay in lift off means that the rocket will miss the asteroid," the Doctor told them.

"Are you certain?" Mel asked.

"Absolutely. A miss is as good as a smile," the Doctor told her, smiling and folded his arms behind his back.

"A miss is as good as a mile," I muttered as the Doctor left to go inside the Tardis. I remained with the others, this time.

It was only a few minutes later when the Doctor back out of the Tardis. He came back over and stood next to me, kissing the top of my head.

"Goodbye, Faroon. When I think of Beyus, I shall remember with admiration the sacrifice he made."

"He must have been convinced that it was the only way to be certain of saving the rest of us."

"He'll not be forgotten," said Ikona.

"Nor will you, Doctor," Faroon told him.

"Well, cheerio, Ikona," Mel told him.

"Goodbye, Ikona," I added.

Ikona and Mel pressed their palms against one another. Then me and Ikona did it as well.

"I wish I was coming with you," he told us.

"No one will credit this, least of all you, but so do I," Mel told him.

"I do have another regret."

"What's that?" the Doctor asked.

"After all the suffering she's caused, the Rani has escaped to freedom in her Tardis."

The Doctor looked up into the sky.

"Memory like a dromedary. An antidote against those killer insects in the globe. The Rani always takes out an insurance policy." The Doctor handed the antidote bottle to Ikona, the bottle he grabbed from the control desk. Ikona removed the lid and tipped the contents onto the ground before throwing away the bottle.

"You're impossible! Why did you do that?" Mel asked.

"Tell her, Faroon," Ikona asked.

"Ikona believes that our people should meet their own challenges, if they are to survive," Faroon answered.

"Well, time and tide melts the snowman," the Doctor misquoted.

"Waits for no man," Mel corrected.

"Who's waiting? I'm ready," the Doctor answered.

"I swear you're doing this on purpose," I laughed and shook my head. He smirked at me and gestured us inside the Tardis. Mel turned to the Doctor as she reached the door.

"You're certainly gonna take a bit of getting used to."

"I'll grow on you, Mel. I'll grow on you."

Mel opened the door and entered. The Doctor turned and doffs his hat to the surrounding Lakertyans before grabbing my hand. I used my other hand to wave at them before we entered the Tardis and closed the door.


End file.
